I S T A N B U L C O M M U N I T Y I M P A C T P R O J E C TB . U . K A N D I L L I O B S E R V A T O R Y & E A R T H Q U A K E R E S E A R C H I N S T I T U T E

abcd basic disaster awareness handbook

I S T A N B U L C O M M U N I T Y I M P A C T P R O J E C TB . U . K A N D I L L I O B S E R V A T O R Y & E A R T H Q U A K E R E S E A R C H I N S T I T U T E

ABCD Basic Disaster Awareness Handbook

prepared by: Marla Petal, MSW

Zeynep Turkmen

consultant: Prof. Dr. Ahmet Mete Ifl›kara

resources: City of Los Angeles, Fire Department

Southern California Earthquake Center

Bo¤aziçi University Kandilli Observatory & Earthquake Research Institute

American Red Cross

Turkish Red Crescent Society

graphic design: Burcu Kayalar Yörük

illustrations: Baran Baran

Ali Murat Erkorkmaz (Ahmet Mete Ifl›kara illustration)

This publication was made possible through support provided by the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, U.S. Agency for International Development, under the terms of Awared No. AOT-G-00-00-00235-00. The opinions experssed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

© Copyright 2002, Istanbul Community Impact Project

2002, Istanbul

Çengelköy 81220 ‹stanbul tel: 0216.308 05 11 / 345 fax: 0216.332 90 94 e-mail: iahep@boun.edu.tr www.iahep.org

FOREWORD

Earthquakes are natural phenomena that happen all over the world. 96 % of Turkey lies within an active seismic zone. Although, we havelong-term predictions, no one can make short-term predictions yetabout when an earthquake will strike.

At this point, the important thing that understand that we are exposed to the hazards of earthquake and must take action to reduce the risks of death and injury, and to reduce loss of property.

The Istanbul Community Impact Project is being implemended byBoshporus Universty, Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake ResearchInstitution (B.U., K.O.E.R.I.) in order to create a disaster awarecommunity, to protect ourselves against earthquakes and to reducepotential earthquake damages

I.C.I.P. is funded by the United States Agency for InternationalDevelopment, Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and is administeredby B.U., K.O.E.R.I.. As with all of our efforts, our goal is to increasedisaster awareness, provide information to help identfy the many smallsteps that can be taken to reduce disaster risks and to assist everyonein be prepared to help ourselves and those around us following adisaster.

The Basic Disaster Awarness Handbook is consists of five sections; I. Disaster Awareness, II. Earthquake Hazards & Risks, III. Before anEarthquake, IV. During & After an Earthquake, V. Next Steps. In theAppendices section a series of Factsheets provide more detailedinformation related to the core content of the handbook.

This Handbook was prepared by Marla Petal, Project Manager andZeynep Turkmen, Program Coordinator under the auspices of the B.U. K.O.E.R.I/I.C.I.P.

I would like to express my gratitute to several of our B.U. K.O.E.R.I.faculty who provided scientific support in the preparation of thishandbook: Prof. Dr. Mustafa Erdik, Head of the Earthquake EngineeringDepartment, Professor Dr. Özal Yüzügüllü, Earthquake Engineering,Doç. Dr. Serif Bar›fl, Geophysical Engineering Department, Dr. Do¤anKalafat, Head of Seismology Laboratory.

I would like to thank all who contributed to the creation of thishandbook, which we hope you will find helpful in taking preparednessmeasures to reduce loss of life and property in probable earthquakes to come.

Prof. Dr. Ahmet Mete Ifl›kara B.U. K.O.E.R.I. Director

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GOALS

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A strong or major earthquake can produce a disaster. Adisaster, by definition, is a situation where people’s needs farexceed the resources available to help them.

We have learned from disasters all over the world that in thefirst 72 hours after a disaster, most help comes from thoseimmediately around us.

The goal of this handbook is to increase disaster awareness,provide information to help identify the many small stepsthat can be taken to reduce disaster risks, and to assist us tobe prepared to help ourselves and those around us followinga disaster.

Our mission is:

• To develop every individual’s awareness of earthquakeand other disaster risks.

• To educate every individual about what they can do tominimize their risks.

• To encourage everyone to recognize and takeresponsibility for taking the steps necessary fordisaster preparedness

• To permit everyone to see themselves as part of the bigpicture.

CONTENTS

I DISASTER AWARENESS I.1 Disaster ExperiencesI.2 Earthquakes in Turkey I.3 Geological Time and Earthquake ScienceI.4 Earthquakes are Natural Phenomena that Happen All Over the WorldI.5 Earthquake MythsI.6 Tectonic Plate Theory

II EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS VS. RISKS II.1 Earthquake HazardsII.2 Earthquake Risk FactorsII.3 Earthquake Warning and Early Response SystemsII.4 It's Too Late When it Shakes

III BEFORE AN EARTHQUAKE III.1 Disaster Preparedness is Made up of Small StepsIII.2 Structural Hazards and Risk MitigationIII.3 Non-Structural Hazards and Risk MitigationIII.4 We’re Getting Ready

Earthquake Hazard HuntFamily Disaster Plan

III.5 Earthquake DrillsIII.6 Fire Prevention & Fire Safety

IV DURING AND AFTER AN EARTHQUAKEIV.1 During an EarthquakeIV.2 After an EarthquakeIV.3 EvacuationIV.4 Psychological Support

V NEXT STEPS V.1 During the First 72 HoursV.2 Incident Command Systems / Emergency Management Systems

• FACT SHEETS

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I DISASTER AWARENESS

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I.1 DISASTER EXPERIENCESWhat do you think of when you think about disasters?

There are many kinds of disasters. Many of the biggest disasters arenatural disasters: floods, storms, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions,landslides, and earthquakes, Some are man-made: fires, transportationaccidents, chemical spills, terrorist attacks.

What are some of the disasters that could happen that might affectYOUR region, your neighborhood, or your family? One of the worst kindsof natural disasters to affect our large population centers areearthquakes. By learning about earthquakes we learn how to protectourselves from many kinds of disasters. What are earthquakes? Whatare our risks? What should we do before, during and after anearthquake to reduce the risks of death and injury, and to reduce loss ofproperty, jobs and community.

• Did you experience the Kocaeli or Duzce, or any otherearthquakes?

• Did you live in the disaster area? • Did you lose family members or friends in the earthquake?• Did you have family members or friends who were injured in the

earthquake?• Did you or any of your friends or family members lose their

homes or their jobs?• Did you see the disaster region with your own eyes?• Did you learn aout the disaster region on t.v. or in the

newspapers?Anyone who has lived through a disaster like this will never forget it.

The Kocaeli and Duzce earthquakes of 1999 touched all of us. All overthe world people learn the most about disaster prevention after adisaster.

I.2 EARTHQUAKES IN TURKEYTurkey has had it’s share of terrible earthquakes. The question for all ofus is what we must learn from these tragedies.

Turkey is earthquake country. With the last eathquakes we have beenreminded of this in the most painful ways. It is now up to us toremember, to protect ourselves, and to prepare. The earth has beenshaped over millions of years, but the human settlements thatcivilizations have built can be destroyed in a minute. Just like otherpeople around the world, we are exposed to the hazards of earthquakes(and other disasters) all over Turkey. And that puts us at risk.

The Marmara Region, which lies at the western end of the NorthernAnatolian Fault system is ian area of high seismic hazard. Earthquakesin this region are evident throughout history.

Take a look at the fact sheets that show the history of earthquakes inTurkey, and in your region.

DISASTERAWARENESS

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I.3 GEOLOGICAL TIME AND EARTHQUAKE SCIENCEHuman beings live a lifetime, so we think in terms of decades,generations, and maybe centuries. But earthquakes keep geologicaltime, hundreds, thousands and millions of years.

Earthquake science has only been around for a small fraction of thesemillions of years and is very new. The big events we learn from happeninfrequently. However, scientists have already begun to see somepatterns. As a result, we know that we can anticpate a major earthquakein the Marmara Sea sometime within the next 30-50 years.

In geological time, this is a very short period!

Apparently when Japanese people hear that there is a 30% chance ofrain, they take there umbrellas with them. We now know that there is ahigh probability of a major earthquake in the Marmara Region. Now isthe time to take action.

I.4 EARTHQUAKES ARE NATURAL PHENOMENATHAT HAPPEN ALL OVER THE WORLD There are about 3,500,000 earthquakes every year. Only about 1,000,000of these are recorded. Only 34,000 earthquakes every year are strongenough to be felt.

There are about 800 moderate earthquakes (5.0-5.9) around the worldthat cause slight damage and about 120 strong earthquakes (6.0-6.9)each year that are damaging. In an average year there are about 18major earthquakes (7.0-7.9) which are potentially destructive. (like theKocaeli earthquake) Once every 10-20 years there is great earthquake(8.0-8.9) that can be devastating.

You may remember some of the earthquakes that happened afterKocaeli: Athens, Taiwan, India, Afyon, Seattle. How about the ones thathappened before?

Your new awareness can help you protect yourself.

Earthquakes have been happening throughout history and all over theworld. As human societies have created larger settlements the loss anddamage from earthquakes has grown. However, we now know enough toprotect ourselves from most of that damage so that an earthquake doesnot have to be a disaster.

DISASTERAWARENESS

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I.5 EARTHQUAKE MYTHSEvery human civilization has lived with earthquakes, and many haveexperience their destruction. From ancient times legends weredeveloped to explain what we didn’t understand.

In Turkey, ancient people explained earthquakes by saying that theworld was perched on the horns of a bull who tossed his head whenangered.

Today we can explain much more. A scientific explanation calledTectonic Plate Theory gives us a much better understanding ofearthquakes. And we know much more about how to protect ourselves.

But our society has modern myths about earthquakes. “Earthquakesalways happen in the middle of the night”. “All of a sudden there are somany earthquakes”. “It’s earthquake weather”. These are all myths. Themyth that many people would like to believe is that somebody knowswhen the next earthquake will be. Of course, if there are enoughpredictions one of them is bound to be right.

Although we have long-range predictions, no one can make short-termpredictions yet about when an earthquake will strike. Modern mythscloud our vision of what we must do to protect ourselves. Let's rejectthese myths, It’s time to look at reality.

I.6 TECTONIC PLATE THEORYTectonic Plate Theory provides us with a scientific explanation ofearthquakes. The theory explains that the earth’s crust is made up oftectonic plates that move very slowly and rub against each other,squeezing and stretching the rocks and causing an enormous buildup ofpressure.

The tectonic plates that make up the surface of the earth are alwaysmoving, but just a little bit. The plates scrape and slip past each other inopposite directions. As the earth moves, friction prevents the movement,but eventually enough energy builds up that it overcomes the frictionand is released along a faultline (very similar to if you snap your fingers– at first, the pushing doesn’t result in movement, eventually the forceovercomes the friction and “snap”). However, unlike your fingers thewhole fault planes doesn’t slip at once. Stresses in the earth’s outerlayer push the sides of the fault together. The friction across the surfaceholds the rocks together so they don’t slip immediately when pushedsideways. Eventually enough stress builds up and the rocks slipsuddenly, releasing energy in waves.

The earth's plates move at about the same rate that our fingernailsgrow - The fastest slipping faults move at a rate at a rate of between 2mm and 8cm per year.

We know about some faults because they have left surface evidence orbecause an earthquake has broken the fault since we startedinstrumental measuring them (in 1932), or because our newersesimographic network is recording earthquakes all the time. But thereare other faults that are hidden, and new faults are created.

The Turkish Earthquake Regions map shows Turkey’s exposure toseismic hazards. It divides the country into sections with higher andlower exposure to shaking. This map is interesting, but misleading,because it doesn’t tell us about our risks. Our particular risk in aparticular place is not simply a matter of which seismic region you live in.

Our risks depend on two factors:

a. The value that is exposed to the hazardFor example, an earthquake occuring in the middle of a desert or in thecountryside where few people live will do much less damage than if thesame size earthquake hits a large city. As our settlements grow, ourrisks increase.

b. The measures we take to mitigate the risks or to reduce our vulnerabilities

Recent earthquakes in Turkey have killed and injured 10 times as manypeople as in Japan and 100 times as many as in California. This isbecause we have not yet taken some of the important steps to reduceour vulnerabilities.

Our risks are related to the density of population, the concentration ofeconomic and natural resources, and our irreplaceable historic andcultural treasures.

We can learn the magnitude of an earthquake soon after it happens,butthere are as many as 40 different factors that affect earthquake risk.Because of the difference between hazards and risks, magnitude is notthe most helpful measure in understanding earthquake damage. Today,scientists in Europe and Turkey use the European Macroseismic Scale(ESOG), which is more helfpul in understanding the damage to humansettlement .

Potential risks can now be estimated before hand, based on what weknow about fault lines, long-term earthquake potential, soil conditions,construction quality, lifelines and mitigation efforts.

II.1 EARTHQUAKE HAZARDSThere are several important factors that determine earthquake hazards:

1. Strength of ShakingStrength of shaking, or ground motion is related to the energy that anearthquake releases. The measure of earthquake magnitude isproportional to this energy. The larger the magnitude, the further theenergy will travel and the larger the area that will be affected.

A seismographic network records the ground-shaking and thencalculations can be made to pinpoint the starting place.

The rupture begins at a point called the hypocenter, usually kilometersbelow the earth’s surface. Straight up above it is the epicenter.

II EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS VS. RISKS

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2. Duration of ShakingA larger fault will produce shaking for a longer duration. Depending onthe magnitude of the earthquake, shaking may last from 10 seconds to90 seconds. The longer buildings shake the greater the damage may be.

3. Distance from Epicenter Since faults move either horizontally or vertically, shock wavestransmitted can cause damage far from the epicenter. Strengthdecreases rapidly with distance from the earthquake. Since faultsthemselves move up from the hypocenter at various angles, damagemay occur at various locations far from the epicenter.

4. Type of SoilShaking is increased in soft, thick, wet soils. In certain soils the groundsurface may settle or slide. The soil conditions at your particular siteare more important than the gross geology of your area. For thisreason, earthquake damage can be estimated based partly on soil type.

5. Depth of Earthquake OriginAn earthquake’s epicenter may be classified as deep, medium, orshallow. Following an earthquake the energy dissipatesas it travels, so ashallower earthquake will cause more damage on the surface.

II.2 EARTHQUAKE RISK FACTORSEarthquake risks depend on the knowledge we use when we design andbuild human settlements. These include:

1. Building Design, Materials, Construction and UseCertain types of buildings are not resistant enough to side-to-sideshaking common in earthquakes. These structural hazards can bemitigated during design and construction and also afterwards withretrofitting.

2. Lifeline VulnerabilityThe design and protection of roads and transportation systems, electric,water and gas lines affect our risk.

3. Non-Structural Hazard MitigationThe measures which people take to secure the contents of buildings isextremely important both to the rates of injury and to economic losses.

4. Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting CapabilityThe development of fire prevention and fire response capability,including earthquake seismic shut-offs for natural gas and automaticgenerators, and personal and public fire-suppression capability are allimportant.

EARTHQUAKEHAZARDS VS. RISKS

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5. First Responder Capacity The preparation that people have in search and rescue, first aid and firefighting, and their organization and communication skills are allimportant.

The good news is that while we can do nothing about the hazards, thereis a lot we can do about the risks. Earthquake risks can be mitigated byhuman action

II.3 EARLY WARNING AND RAPID RESPONSE SYSTEMSEarly Warning Systems depend on the different speeds of radio versusseismic waves. When we immediately measure ground motion and thencalculate the source (by looking at the phase differences betweenwaves) it’s possible to send a radio message to a distant location that anearthquake will arrive in the next few seconds. In the Marmara region,because of the proximity of the fault, there might be just enough time tocreate systems that automatically shut off gas, nuclear power, electrictrains, and overpass and bridge entrances. However, there are two largesteps: getting the information, and then designing safe automatedsystems to respond. It’s a big job, and a long term one. This kind ofsystem is currently being implemented in Istanbul.

Rapid Response Systems also hold promise for getting help where it isneeded quickly. With a large number of strong motion measurementinstruments in place (eg. 120 around Istanbul), and using maps that takeinto account many different vulnerability parameters, it is possible topredict where the worst areas of damage will be for a scenarioearthquake, or within a few minutes after an event. These can be usedto organize fire-fighting, first aid, search and rescue and relief .

II.4 IT'S TOO LATE WHEN IT SHAKESIf we take no action at all, then the risks to Istanbul after the next majorearthquake are estimated as follows:

Out of 700,000 reinforced concrete multistory buildings, 40,000 – 50,000may be damaged beyond repair. 5,000 may be pancaked.

If we take no action at all, then the possible loss of life will be upwardsof 40,000 - 50,000 people. Four times that number will have injuries thatrequire hospitalization. And the dollar losses to property will be billions.

The most important challenge for us is to recognize our risk and to takemeasures to reduce the loss and damage that will take place.

If we take action, we can reduce these losses.

EARTHQUAKEHAZARDS VS. RISKS

III BEFORE AN EARTHQUAKE

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III.1 DISASTER PREPAREDNESS IS MADE UP OFSMALL STEPSDisaster preparedness is nothing other than a series of small stepswhich everyone can and should participate in before a disaster.Preparedness is not accomplished overnight and it is never complete.But every small step taken is important.

Let us give you an example. Perhaps you have a family photo hanging ona nail in your hallway. After an earthquake you are thrilled to find thateveryone is alive, unharmed, and your house is still standing. The onlything that happened may be that the family photo in the hallway fell onthe ground and the glass broke. Not important. No big deal. But at thatmoment your child runs down the hallway towards you and cuts his feet.You pick him up and run outside in search of a doctor to take the glassout of his foot and stop the bleeding and stitch it up. Somewhere not faraway there may be hundreds of people injured. The doctor you find isnow busy with your child and now cannot go to help someone else, whomay be dying.

How could this be prevented? A curved picture hook, instead of a nail. Asmall thing. But the small things ARE the big things. Every small stepyou take counts. A pair of small L-brackets can be a gift of life.

When it comes to earthquakes, we’re all in this together. We’re all onthe same team!

III.2 STRUCTURAL HAZARDS AND RISK MITIGATIONLet’s look at our worst fears. We have all seen terrible images ofcollapsed buildings from the Kocaeli and Duzce earthquakes. Most thethe deaths happened in these buildings. But you may surprised at thereal statistics.

For every building damaged beyond repair in Turkey there is an averageof one death and four hospitalized injuries.

What percentage of buildings do you think were pancaked in the disasterarea? 75%? 50%? 25%? 10%? 5%?

Would you be surprised to know that of ALL the damaged buildingsapproximately 5% were pancaked?

Of course, this is not random. The buildings that collapsed were thosewhich were not build according to earthquake code.

In the entire disaster area, approximately 1% of the population lost theirlives. This is a huge and unacceptable number. At this moment if youare in high seismic risk area, your probability of survival is 99%. But it ismuch higher if you live and work in a safe building and much lower ifyou live or work in a dangerous building.

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BUILDING IT RIGHTThe easiest and most inexpensive way to achieve safety in buildings is tobuild them correctly to begin with. In large modern cities like Istanbul,almost all of the buildings are replaced every 40 years. So, if we startedtoday, within 40 years most of our buildings would be safe.

No building can be fully earthquake proof. However, we do know how tobuild buildings that are “life safe” that will protect the lives of thoseinside them. Even here, the small things are the big things.

There are some simple dos and don'ts:

DO:1. Have the building professionally designed by an architect and

engineer, so that the building weight is distributed among theload-bearing elements. A building with a large open ground floorspace without supporting columns to carry the weight on top orsupport the roof may not be safe.

2. Check that you building was built according to earthquake safetycodes.

3. Know your soil type at the building site, because the building hasto be designed in consideration of the soil conditions. What isimportant is the top 30m of soil.

4. Use the correct quantity and quality of construction materialspecified in the engineering design. Each building designspecifies the correct quantitiy and quality of materials required.

5. Make sure that construction is carried out by trained andsupervised workers.

6. Make sure that non-structural elements like pipes are flexibleand can move with shaking, and that false ceilings, lighting,water heaters, heater ducts, air conditioners and signs are firmlyfastened with earthquakes in mind.

DON'T:1. Alter the building design by removing load-bearing elements.

This may make the building unsafe.2. Build floors illegally.3. Substitute materials that were not specified in the design. Don't

use too much or too little steel, or the wrong kind. Don't mixsand or dirt into concrete. The concrete will not be reliable.

4. Use the building for something very different than it wasdesigned for. For example, buildings that will be used forstorage, libraries, warehouses, heavy machinery, classrooms andgyms must all be designed to carry much more weight than anormal home or office.

BEFORE ANEARTHQUAKE

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INSPECTION AND RETROFITTINGIf you want to be sure about the safety of your building, you must have itinspected by a qualified engineer. If your building was not built to code,then you should find out whether it can be retrofitted.

Some of the questions an engineer will ask are:

• Is there a strong and deep foundation? • Are columns and beams designed to support the weight of the

building?• Is there an unsafe ground floor? For example; large spaces

without proper support system (i.e. columns), large glasswindows, high ceilings?

• Are all the columns where they should be? Have any columnsbeen removed?

• Has adequate and quality building material been used?• Have the steel frames, walls, floors and ceilings been joined to

one another correctly? • Are there deep cracks on walls in the building?• How about the chimneys? Have they been reinforced and

supported from below?

Minimum retrofit programs can save lives by adding columns andreinforcement to buildings that will greatly increase the ability of thebuildings to protect the lives inside, even though it won’t necessarilysave the building. The reinforcement may not save your building, but itmay save many lives.

Programs to increase the life-safety of buildings must start withschools, hospitals, and public safety buildings. Buildings built before1976, or whose foundations were approved before 1976, and which aremore than 5 stories high, are particularly vulnerable and should beinspected.

TEAR IT DOWNIf a building is not built according to code, and if it cannot be retrofittedto make it life-safe, then it must be taken down. Not only is it dangerousfor the people who live or work in it, but it is also a danger to the peoplenext to it, or who pass by it. This is not a private risk, but a risk imposedon other innocent people.

Although it is costly, many buildings will have to be torn down in orderto prevent unnecessary deaths and injuries.

BEFORE ANEARTHQUAKE

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III.3 NON-STRUCTURAL HAZARDS AND RISK MITIGATIONApproximately half of the economic losses incurred in any earthquakeare from non-structural causes. Non-structural damage can kill, injure,destroy historical and cultural treasures, and can cause huge economiclosses.

Non-structural damage can put hospitals and fire stations out of actionand thereby cause even more loss of life. It can close schools formonths and thereby steal time from the lives of young people. It candestroy office equipment and machinery and cause loss of jobs andbusinesses. And it can wipe out inventories of food and supplies, rawmaterials and consumer products and thereby destroy businesses.

By taking some simple measures to secure the things that can slide orfall, by reaarranging a few things in your home and office, we caninexpensively protect our lives, our jobs, and everything we have workedhard to create.

What are “Non-Structural Hazards”? These are things that are not partof the supporting structure of the building. Not the columns, beams orwalls, but everything else.

We need to think of ourselves, as though we were on a boat, that weknow will rock. Anything that is not flexible, or anything that can slide,or fall, may be dangerous. This is especially important where we sleep,as well as where we work, study, live and play.

BEFORE ANEARTHQUAKE

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III.4 WE’RE GETTING READY! ARE YOU?

EARTHQUAKE HAZARD HUNT A good place to start is with an Earthquake Hazard Hunt. Our objective isto think about and change the things that could slide or fall, and hurt us.

Let’s think about it.

Picture your living room and look around carefully. Which objects (of allsizes, large and small) could slide and fall during a strong shake? Whatkind of damage can these do? Cabinets, clocks, chandelier...

Now your kitchen. Look around carefully. Here too there are many itemsthat could slide or fall. Cabinet doors can be shaken open, cabinets canbe shaken down, even heavy appliances can move across the floor.

Now think about the bathroom. Are there dangerous items that couldslide or fall?

Imagine your bedroom. Is there a wardrobe?

Finally, make a quick check of your exit routes, in the corridors andbehind the doors for things that could fall and block your exits.

What have you found during your short trip that can injure you and yourfamily by sliding and falling?

Please complete your Earthquake Hazard Hunt worksheet at home.Walk around with your family and list all of the hazards. Discuss whatyou must do to mitigate each one. Decide what supplies you need andwho will do what. Decide which items are the most important. Getstarted and record the date that you fixed each thing.

Sometimes you can mitigate a hazard, just by moving a piece offurniture. Move your bed away from the windows. Secure large objectsthat could fall on your bed or block your doorway.

As you tackle your Earthquake Hazard Hunt, prioritize the items asfollows:

1. Secure life threatening items first (eg. wardrobe in bedroom, things blocking exit)

2. Secure those things that would entail significant economic loss (eg. computer, a/v equipment)

3. Secure those items that will let you live more comfortably (eg. family heirlooms, breakables)

Continue to use the Earthquake Hazard Hunt worksheet to check yourprogress in non-structural mitigation.

BEFORE ANEARTHQUAKE

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W e ’ r e G e t t i n g R e a d y ! Good luck! - Prof. Dr. Ahmet Mete Ifl›kara

EARTHQUAKE HAZARD HUNT

Hazards we found: Dates corrected:

• Check for things that can fall and for things that can slide.• Anything heavy that's placed high up? Move it below the head

level of the shortest family member. • Bracket furniture to walls. • Securely fasten pictures on closed hooks. • Secure lighting fixtures to ceiling. • Install kitchen cabinets latches that will hold shut during a

quake.• Remove glass bottles from anywhere near bathtubs (You may

need to fill the tub after a quake for washing water).• Check for any hazardous materials (poisons, flammable

materials) to make sure they are secure.• How about the hot water heater? (It may need plumbers tape to

fasten it to the wall).

Prioritize the items as follows:1. Secure life threatening items first (eg. wardrobe in bedroom, things blocking exit)2. Secure those things that would entail significant economic loss (eg. computer, a/v equipment)3. Secure those items that will let you live more comfortably (eg. family heirlooms, breakables)

The Earthquake Hazard Hunt should begin at home, with all family members participating.Imagination, and common sense are all that are needed as you go from room to room and thinkabout what can happen when the earth and house start shaking. Check places where your familyspends most of its time - where the family sleeps, eats, works and plays. Do some detectivework! Make a list of what needs to be done and tackle it one by one until it's finished!

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BEFORE ANEARTHQUAKE

THE FAMILY DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PLAN The second worksheet is the Family Disaster Preparedness Plan. Itbegins with a Family Meeting.

Family Meeting:In preparation for a disaster, all the family members, including schoolage children should come together for a meeting . In this meeting,family members will discuss preparations prior to, during and after adisaster. This includes earthquakes, fire, flood, and other possibledisasters.

Safe Locations:Identify danger areas in your homewhere to stay away from: in front ofwindows, there are large and heavy hanging light fixtures, heavy andlarge objects that can slide and fall, sources of fire. Look for saferspaces where you can be protected: Under a sturdy table, next to asturdy sofa or chair, next to your bed, in a corner, or by an inside wall.Look for the safest places to Drop, Cover, and Hold.

Exit Routes:Identify the regular exit routes and also alternative exits that you maynot have thought about, through windows and back doors. Learn all theexits from your building. If there are iron bars on an outside window ordoor, you should keep a heavy iron pry bar inside the building, in caseyou need to break these open. If there are any objects that can block theexit routes by sliding and falling, these should be removed. For example,objects which stand behind a door i.e. rolled up carpets or vacuumcleaners.

Food and Water:Water is essential for survival. During an earthquake we can expect thatmany water pipes will be broken, both in the streets, and the pipes thatbring water into your home. Water may be contaminated along the wayby many sources. Immediately after an earthquake, if you home is safe,you can fill your bathtub and sinks with water immediately to give you anextra supply. It is almost certain that water supplies will be interruptedfor some time.

Storing an alternative supply of water is essential. Store four litres perperson per day. Three days is the absolute minimum for which youshould be prepared. It would be better to store enough water for aweek. This water will be required for drinking, preparing food, brushingteeth, other minimal hygiene needs and washing dishes. Store water insturdy, opaque plastic jugs or bottles, but not on concrete.

Turning off Utilities:Following an earthquake the biggest danger is from fire. If there is anydanger of gas leakage, these valves should be turned off first. After alldanger of gas fire is past, and if there are possible breaks in theelectrical wires, then electricity should also be turned off. Appliancesshould be unplugged to prevent damage when the electricity returns. Ifthere are damaged water pipes, the water too may need to be turned off.Everyone can learn to turn off these utilities.

Meeting Places:Identify a meeting place inside your home, outside your home, andoutside your neighborhood. Family members may not be together whenan earthquake occurs. You will save yourself a lot of anxiety and worry,if you know where to find each other. It may take a long time to reacheach other, and you must first help the people nearest to you. But thisplan will save you from panicking about how to find each other.

First decide on a place to meet inside your house. It should be a safe,central place or on the way to the exit. This is where you will meet afterthe shaking stops. Then decide on a safe place outside your building,away from overhead dangers where you can meet if your neighborhoodis safe. This might be a park, or square. This is where you will meet ifyour building is not safe. Finally, decide on a place to meet outside yourneighborhood, in case your neighborhood is unsafe, or it is impossible toget there. For many people this location will be their child’s school, or arelative’s home that everyone is familiar with.

We should plan for children to remain at school until their parents oranother pre-approved relative or friend arrives to pick them up after anearthquake.

Identify a secure location outside your home where family members canleave messages for each other. This way if you’re separated, and unableto remain in your home, your family will know where to go to find you.You don’t want to publicize that you are not at home. That is why thislocation should be secure and discreet, i.e. under a paving stone, insidea tin can, in the back yard.

Out of Area Contacts: It is very important after a disaster that all telephone lines be kept opento get help. The telephone lines will be disrupted by damage and by toomany calls. The local lines and the lines to the capital city will be heavilyoverloaded. Therefore, choose a person who lives outside of your areaand outside of the capital, and designate that person as your out-of-areacontact. Give that person a list of all of your friends and relatives thatwill want to know about your safety. Give your friends your out-of-area-contact person’s number. Then, you will only need to make one phonecall to say that you are alright and your out-of-area contact will takecare of all the rest. It will be easier to reach that person again later, tocheck on others who have called.

Family members should memorize this number and young childrenshould always keep with them the information on out-of-area contactperson and family meeting locations.

BEFORE ANEARTHQUAKE

17

18

Do NOT use the telephone unless you have a physical emergency:Do not use the phone after an earthquake unless there is a lifethreatening emergency. Otherwise phone lines will not be able to beused by those who are in need. What feels small to you may be largesomewhere else.

During an earthquake telephone receivers can be shaken off the hook.Replacing the telephone receivers after an earthquake will help gettelephone services back to normal more quickly.

Preparing copies of important documents: Suppose that after a disaster you could not re-enter your home. Thinkabout the documents you would need in order to continue your life: Inorder not to loose important documents for family members during anearthquake, you should have copies of these documents made. Sendthese to a relative outside of the area to keep for you or keep them in awater proof plastic bag. For example: bank books, IDs, bonds and titledeeds, school records, passport

Keep a flashlight, shoes and work gloves next to your bed: In case an earthquake happens at night while you are in bed you willneed to protect your hands and feet and find your way in the dark. Keepa flashlight, shoes or hard-soled closed slippers by your bed. You canplace these in a plastic bag right under your bed where you can grabthem when you feel an earthquake. Practice reaching out these forthese objects in a dark room.

Do NOT light any flame after an earthquake:Unless we are hundred percent sure that there is no gas leak after anearthquake we should never use light a flame of any kind. Extinguish allfires around you.

First Aid kit: Your first aid kit should contain those things necessary to meet theneeds of your family. See the list in the factsheets. Plan to use theseitems for your everyday first aid needs, as well. As you replace itemsyou use, you will be keeping them fresh

PREPARING EMERGENCY SUPPLIES:Create a space where you will store your emergency supplies. If possible,keep these in a water proof and air tight box outside your house. If not,create a space in your home for these items. Rotate the items in normaluse, so that you can keep them fresh. It is also important to prepare suchan emergency supplies box in your neighbourhood.

BEFORE ANEARTHQUAKE

BEFORE ANEARTHQUAKE

19

Personal Earthquake Kit: It is important to prepare survival supplies for your family. Although youmay not need to evacuate, you may decide to stay outside your buildinguntil you are sure it is safe. So it will help to have these supplies withyou – and to have another set in your car, and at the office, in case youare away from home.

Supplies to be put into this bag are;

• Water• Energy Food• Radio (with spare batteries) • Flashlight (with spare batteries)• First Aid kit• A Change of Clothing• Some Cash• A pocket knife• A Whistle• Pen and paper• A plastic bag including copies of important documents and out-of

area contact information.• Special supplies for babies and toddlers, old people and pets• Individual prescription medication sufficient for 1 week

(eg. for heart conditions, diabetes, blood pressure, hormonereplacement)

You should prepare a school earthquake kit for school childrencontaining the following:

• Information for contacting parents• A family photo• A small comfort toy• Snacks• One bottle of water

Schools themselves should have water, food, first aid and sheltersupplies on hand. Every school should have a Standard EmergencyManagement or Incident Command System Plan.

Review your plan replace your food and water, medicine and batteriesevery 6 months. You could do this on the same weekend when theclocks are moved for daylight savings time!

20

FAMILY DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PLAN

Enter date of completion:

We held a family meeting to discuss our Family Disaster Plan.

We identified the safest places in the house, and in each room. (Away from windows, largeand heavy objects that can fall, and objects like heaters that can cause fire.)

We identified exits and alternative exits from our house and building.

We considered the special provisions we need for pets, people who don't speak thelanguage of the country, elderly, disabled, and small children.

We have enough water to last us a week (4 liters per person per day), and food for 3 days.

We know how to turn off our electricity, water and gas.

We completed the hazard hunt and eliminated the hazards from our home.

We know our out-of-area contact person(s) and phone number(s): It's:

We know where we would reuniteInside the house:Outside the house:Outside the neighborhood:

We know how to use a fire extinguishers.

We keep shoes and flashlights by our beds.

We have a good first aid kit.

We collected our survival supplies, and made up our earthquake bags. (Flashlight,batteries, radio, first aid kit, change of clothes, cash, whistle, matches, 1 week prescriptionmedication, paper and pencil, important phone numbers.)

We made our copies of important documents, and key addresses and phone numbers, andkeep them in our earthquake bag or with our out-of-area contact.

We know never to light a match, lighter, or any other flame after an earthquake until we aresure there is no danger of escaping gas anywhere around.

We're starting to spread the word to everyone we know.

We know that we will only use the telephone in an emergency after an earthquake, so that thelines will be there for those who need them most.. We will get our information from TV and radio.

We have completed our Earthquake Hazard Hunt. We have taken measures to protect ourselves.

We plan to review our plan again every 6 months.

name

address

e-mail

telephone date

W e ’ r e G e t t i n g R e a d y ! Good luck! - Prof. Dr. Ahmet Mete Ifl›kara

III.5 EARTHQUAKE DRILLThe human brain responds to emergencies in one of three primitiveways: fight, flight, or freeze. All are forms of panic. They don't work wellfor us now that we live in buildings and cities. We need to plan andpractice our responses so that we don't panic.

We need to have earthquake drills at home, at school, and at work.

When an earthquake happens, the solid earth will pitch and roll like aship for a minute or two. The shaking may start out gentle and then youmay feel a sharp jolt followed by swaying or rolling. If you are near thestrongest ground shaking it will be impossible to move around much.Keep calm and ride it out. Your chances of getting through it safely aregood if you act calmly and protect yourself from falling objects.

The rules are simple. Everyone should:

DROP, COVER AND HOLD.

• Find a safe place and drop.

• Cover your head and neck.

• Hold on to something secure.

• Stay where you are and do not move until the shaking stops.

Drop, means get down low. Cover means, cover your head and neckespecially. Hold means hold on to something stable so that you do notgo sliding.

Drop, cover and hold under a strong table, next to your bed, next to asofa, by an inside corner or wall.

You will not have time to think about where you will be safe. You need tothink about it ahead of time so that you can react appropriately andautomatically, and immediately.

How? Practice. You should have formal earthquake drills at school or atwork. You can also play this informal Earthquake Drill Game at home.Playing this game now may save yourself and your family from seriousinjury.

Rules:1. Figure out the safest places in each room. Physically go to those

spots and practice your positions.

2. In the days that follow this initial exercise hold surpriseearthquake drills. Call out “EARTHQUAKE!” from the living roomor kitchen. Each family member should respond by moving to thenearest safe place. Stay in place for one minute. Then movetowards your meeting place in the house. A minute or two later,shout “AFTERSHOCK!” and do the same thing.

BEFORE ANEARTHQUAKE

21

22

3. Once a month let a child call a surprise “EARTHQUAKE!” andfollow through with what you've learned. Test each other. Wasyour choice the safest? Did the person in the kitchen turn off thestove? Did you meet afterwards where you said you would? Didyou do the same things during the aftershock?

4. Now you know what to do! When the shaking is over, stay close.Share the clean-up chores. Talk about what happened and be sureto let all the children say what they felt, how afraid and how bravethey were.

At school, children must practice being quiet and orderly and learn tofollow their teachers instructions carefully.

III.6 FIRE PREVENTION AND FIRE SAFETYAfter an earthquake, the biggest dangers are due to fire. In Kobe, forexample, more people died from the fire after the earthquake, thanfrom the earthquake itself. Most people are killed by smoke, rather thanthe fire itself. Fire safety is important at all times, not just after anearthquake.

After an earthquake fire risk is higher because of the dangers of brokennatural gas lines, damaged LPG tubes, upset heaters and electricalappliances. Cigarettes, matches, candles all add to the danger.

The main reason for having flashlight and batteries on hand after anearthquake is so that you will not light a match or candle until you aresure that all danger of fire is past.

EARTHQUAKE FIRE RISKS These are some additional hazards to be aware of:

Electricity:Live electrical wires may be exposed outside in the street, or inside yourbuilding. Electrical sparks or matches, lighters, or cigarette flames canignite gas fires. If there’s any danger of gas leaking, do not touchanything electrical.

Natural gas and liquid propane gas leaks:Gas lines may rupture at street, building, and apartment level, leakingdangerous gas. LPG gas tanks may explode or be damaged, may beleaking and in danger of exploding. You may not always be able to smellnatural gas leaks. Natural gas rises, and may be escaping into the airwhere it can be diluted. LPG gas is heavier than air and sinks, therefore,even if the leaks begin on upper floors, it may be especially dangerouson lower floors and basements where the gas accumulates.

Flammable or combustible liquids:When working with flammable or combustible ilquids, be sure that thearea where you are working is well-ventilated. If the air is kept movingthrough the area, vapor levels are reduced and are less likely to reachdangerous concentrations. Make sure there are no ignition sources suchas electric motors or pilot lights.

BEFORE ANEARTHQUAKE

FIRE PREVENTION MEASURESHow can you prevent fires?

• Teach children not to play with fire.

• Don’t leave flammable things close to a heat source.

• Don’t lie down while smoking a cigarette (cigarettes are the mostcommon cause of fire).

• Replace faulty wiring.

• Don’t plug too many things into one electrical outlet.

• Keep at least one, and preferably two fire extinguishers in yourhome.

• Check that fire escape doors are always open.

• Install smoke detectors in your home, office or school to alert youto smoke.

• If you don’t have fire escape stairs, then keep a portable ladderrolled up by a second floor window.

IF YOU SEE A FIREIf you see a fire there are some basic rules!

• If the fire is small you should put it out immediately.

• Sound an alarm or shout to warn people and get help. Call 110 ifyou can.

• Close the door to the room with the fire behind you, and the doorsbetween you and the fire to limit the spread of the fire.

• Make sure there is no one left in the building. Get out!

• Call the Fire Department: 110 (say where the fire is, what kind offire, who and what is involved. Stay on the telephone until theoperator tells you to hang up.)

Under the following circumstances never try to extinguish a fire, leavefire area immediately and call the fire department:

• if fire is expanding rapidly,

• it tends to block your exit route,

• if you are not sure about how to use the fire extinguisher

• if the fire extinguisher is too big for you.

PUTTING OUT A SMALL FIREThree things are necessary for are fire to burn:a. fuel

b. air

c. heatTake one of these away and there will be no fire. A fire will beextinguished if there is no air, if the fuel is used up, if the heat isreduced, or if the flames are inhibited.

BEFORE ANEARTHQUAKE

23

24

Most big fires start small. Everyone can learn how to extinguish a smallfire. A small fire can be suppressed by

• covering it with a towel or blanket

• pouring sand or dirt on to it

• using a fire extinguisher

• using a fire hose

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN A FIRESmoke kills more people than fire

• Crouch down low

• Cover your face with a wet cloth

• Crawl to a safe exit.

• Don’t open a door that is hot

• If trapped, close the door and place wet towels at the bottom ofthe door.

If there is a small fire between you and the only exit, then you shouldrun quickly through to the exit.

If you find that your clothing is on fire,

STOP, DROP AND ROLL!

• Shout for help.

• Stop. Don’t run. If you run the oxygen will feed the fire. If youstand the flames will rapidly rise to your vital organis and hands.

• Drop. Lie down on the ground. Cover your face with your hands.

• Roll to extinguish the fire.

• If someone else is on fire, make them stop, drop and roll.

Never put ice on a burn. Don’t put anything else on a burn. Run waterover the burn for 10-15 minutes. Cover with sterile bandage only.

USING A FIRE EXTINGUISHERA portable fire extinguisher is extremely important for extinguishingfire. A fire extinguisher can save lives and property. By intervening earlya small fire can be extinguished and a large fire averted. Everyoneshould learn how a small fire can be extinguished.

In every house and office there should be at least one multi-purpose(ABC Type) fire extinguisher (approximately 6 kg or more, smaller ones)which can be lifted up by everybody. Every member of the family mustlearn how to use a fire extinguisher.

BEFORE ANEARTHQUAKE

PARTS OF A FIRE EXTINGUISHER

1. Gauge:The scale shows if the extinguisher is full or needs to be refilled.

2. Pin:You have to pull the pin in order to use the extinguisher.

3. Nozzle:The nozzle must be aimed at the source of the fire.

4. Hose:The hose must be flexible, good quality and easy to use.

5. Label:The label shows the type of the extinguisher and how to use it.

6. Tag:The tag shows the use before date.

BEFORE ANEARTHQUAKE

25

gauge

nozzle

hose

pin

label

tag

26

BEFORE ANEARTHQUAKE

1. pull the pin 2. aim at the source

TO USE THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER P.A.S.S. (Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep )

1. Pull.

2. Aim towards the fuel. Hold the extinguisher low and perpendicularto the fire; avoid inhaling the escaping fumes and spray.

3. Squeeze the nozzle to spray the base of the fire. Start from adistance and approach as fire gets smaller.

4. Sweep from one end to the other until the fire is suppressed. If thefire does not get smaller after the first response continue sweeping.

Once the fire extinguisher has been used, even if it’s not empty, itmust be refilled.

4. sweep3. squeeze

IV.1 DURING AN EARTHQUAKE

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO DURING AN EARTHQUAKEAs things develop quickly during an earthquake, you will have little timeto think. First you hear a noise, then shaking starts.

If there are others around, shout “EARTHQUAKE” just as you did in yourdrill, to warn them to take cover. If it was just a small earthquake or apassing truck, don’t be embarrassed – you just had another goodearthquake drill. This practice is important.

DROP, COVER AND HOLD.• Find a safe place and drop (move away from windows and glass

and away from large heavy objects).

• Cover your head and neck.

• Hold on to something secure.

• Stay where you are and do not move until the shaking stops.

If you are inside;Drop under a solid table or a similar object, keep away from windowsand take cover beside the inner walls, corners or doors.

If you are outside;Try to go to an open area while keeping away from falling debris,electric wires and trees.

If you are in a car;Drive your car to an open area and stay in it. Keep away from bridges,underpasses or electric poles.

In narrow city streets;There are very few places outside that are safe. In fact, running out ofthe building may be the most dangerous thing to do.

WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DO DURING AN EARTHQUAKE• Do not run to the stairs or exit doors

• Do not go out to the balcony

• Do not jump from balconies or windows

• Do not use the elevator.

IV DURING AND AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE

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IV.2 AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE• Stay calm. Do not panic. If you don’t feel calm pretend to be calm.

That w›ll help others around you.

• Avoid broken glass.

• Check around you and help anyone who is injured. Do not movesomeone unless they are in immediate danger. Give first aid asnecessary. Bring help to them.

INSIDE• Check for fire. Take appropriate actions and precautions.

• Check gas, water and electric lines. If gas is leaking, don’t usematches, flashlights, appliances or electric switches. Openwindows, leave building, and report damage.

• Look around you and observe any structural damage or firehazards as you exit, so that you can report it.

• If you do not see any structural damage, smell any gas or see anyfire then you are not in any immediate danger.

• If your building is damaged you should not panic. You shouldcalmly and carefully exit your building. On your way out pick upyour evacuation bag and water and go to a safe place.

• There are many outside areas that will be more dangerous thaninside areas. If your building is not damaged, check that yourtelephone receivers are hung up in their cradles (closed). Clean upany hazardous spills. Gather your emergency supplies.

• Listen to emergency broadcast station on radio or television.

• Stay out of damaged buildings.

OUTSIDEIf you have been trained as a Community Emergency ResponseVolunteer or have skills in first aid, search and rescue, or firesuppression, first check that those around you are safe. Then take yoursupplies bag and make your way to your community meeting point,observing and noting damage on your way.

If you have not been trained as a volunteer, but you want to help, firsthelp those around you. Go to your neigbborhood assembly place andvolunteer to help. We'll give you an idea of how you can do this.

AFTERSHOCKSEarthquakes come in clusters. Several aftershocks usually occur withinthe first hour after the main shock.

Aftershocks generally continue during the following two weeks, getingsmaller and less frequent. Aftershocks are natural.

During an aftershock you should behave exactly as you did during themain earthquake.

DURING ANDAFTER AN

EARTHQUAKE

WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DO AFTERDo not panic, scream, or run.

Remember, do not use telephones except to report physicalemergencies and fire. You may have shaken and be fine - butsomewhere else someone needs help and your phone call will preventtheirs from getting through. Leave the telephones free so thatneighborhoods with real emergencies will be able to reach the help theyneed and so that authorities and media can get information through tospeed help. Stay off the telephones. Make only one call to your out-of-area contact.

Do not light any match, lighter, candle, or fire until you are sure that alldanger of escaping gas and other flammables is gone. If you smell gas,turn it off where possible, open the windows and doors and exitimmediately. If it is dark, turn on your flashlight.

IV.3 EVACUATION

BUILDING EVACUATIONBuilding evacuation is done is order to make sure that everyone is safeand accounted for, and to assess damage before reoccupying thebuilding. Building evacuation should be done calmly and carefully.

There may be more danger outside your building than inside.

There may be no safe assembly area outside.

There may be no clear routes to get outsides.

Alternative routes may need to be cleared.

AREA EVACUATIONEvacuation should never be automatic. It must be planned and checkedbefore it can be implemented.

There are two main reasons why some areas should be evacuated:

• low lying areas immediately by the coast should be evacuatedbecause the ground may be particularly unstable. Everyone shouldmove carefully to higher stable ground away from the shore.

• fire or chemical hazard dangers may require people to movequickly out of the way of danger.

However, in general, an earthquake itself is NOT a reason for evacuation.

Before begining an evacuation, it must determined that there is a safeplace to go and a safe way to get there.

After a severe earthquake, children in the affected area should not be sentanywhere on service buses, until it has been determined that the routeand the destination are both safe. Instead, everyone should be preparedfor children to stay at school unil their safety can be assured, and untilthey can be released to parents or predesignated relatives or friends.

DURING ANDAFTER AN

EARTHQUAKE

29

30

IV.4 PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORTDisasters affect people in many ways. There is a range of behavior thatis normal under these abnormal circumstances.

People experience many different losses in a disaster. There is a naturalgrieving process following any loss and a disaster causes muchdistress.

Some normal initial responses to disaster inlcude:

• fear• disbelief• disorientation and numbing• reluctance to abandon property• need for information• seeking help• offering help

Soon after there may be other responses:

• change in appetite• anxiety• anger and suspicion• apathy and depression• crying• frustration and feelings of powerlessness• moodiness and irritability• increased illnesses• difficulty sleeping• headaches• disappointment with and rejection of outside help• isolating oneself from family and friends• guilt• domestic violence• inability to enjoy normal activities.

DURING ANDAFTER AN

EARTHQUAKE

Young children may also experience:

• return to earlier behaviors• clinging to parents• reluctance to go to bed• nightmares• inability to concentrate• refusal to attend school

To help the best things you can do are:

• recognize your own feelings• talk to others about your feelings• accept help from others in the spirit in which it is given• get enough rest• get physical activity• give someone a hug, physical touching helps• learn to really listen and show that you are listening• accept the feelings of others without trying to change them• spend extra time with your child• be tolerant of others

GRIEFAfter a disaster the large scale of the loss overwhelms our normal griefprocesses and rituals to cope with the death of a loved one. Everyculture has many steps to help us share grief eg. notifying relatives andfriends, funeral, visits to family home, bringing food, keeping company,praying together, an intense week of mourning, 30 or 40 days of semi-mourning, anniversaries. These normal rituals are disrupted afterdisaster and people must create new ways to acknowledge their lossesand share their grief.

31

DURING ANDAFTER AN

EARTHQUAKE

I.C.

LOG.

I . C . S

OP.

C.V.

32

V NEXT STEPS

V.1 THE FIRST 72 HOURSDuring the first 72 hours after a disaster, most help comes from thoseimmediately around us. There is no government anywhere in the worldthat has the resources to meet all the needs in a disaster. In order to beready there are many skills we can learn:

• First Aid

• Light Search and Rescue

• Fire Suppression

• Response Organization

You can take a course for Community Emergency Volunteers and learnskills in first aid, search and rescue, and fire fighting. You can learn howto operate a wireless radio. You can volunteer on your local DisasterPreparedness Committee where you live or where you work in order tohelp prepare your community and reduce your risk

There are many ways we can help, even without extra skills: findsupplies and transportation, collect and prepare food and water, set upshelters and temporary toilets, supervise elderly and children, securethe perimeter of unsafe areas, offer psychological support to those inneed.

V.2 INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEMS (STANDARDEMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS)There is an international system for organizing emergency response. Itis called Incident Command Systems or sometimes, StandardEmergency Management Systems. It involves one person (in an area)becoming a Commander (even temporarily) with help from aCommunications Volunteer and creating two branches, as necessary:an Operations branch to handle damage assessment, search andrescue, fire and hazard suppression, and first aid, and a Logisticsbranch to handle supplies, volunteers, transportation, food and water,shelter and sanitation, and psychological support and supervision.

Community Emergency Response Volunteers and others trained inIncident Command Systems may be working in your area. See if you canget training and offer your help.

33

The earth is normally stable and supports us. When the earth shakes unexpectedly,

we are shaken deep inside.

As we take steps to make ourselves safer, we replace fear with knowledge

and helplessnesss with preparedness.

We’re Getting Ready!

Are You?

NOTES

I S T A N B U L C O M M U N I T Y I M P A C T P R O J E C TB . U . K A N D I L L I O B S E R V A T O R Y & E A R T H Q U A K E R E S E A R C H I N S T I T U T E

abcd basic disaster awareness

factsheets

FS I 01/020236

F A C T S H E E T

EARTHQUAKES IN TURKEY BETWEEN 1900-2000

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FS I 02/0202 37

NOTABLE EARTHQUAKES IN TURKEY, 20TH CENTURY

DATE AREA LIVES LOST STRENGTH MAG HEAVILY(MS) DAMAGED BLDGS

28.04.1903 Malazgirt (Mufl) 600 IX 6.7 4,500

09.08.1912 Mürefte (Tekirda¤) 216 X 7.3 5,540

04.10.1914 Burdur 300 IX 6.9 6,000

22.10.1926 Kars 355 VIII 5.7 –

07.05.1930 Hakkari 2,514 X 7.2 --

19.04.1938 Kırflehir 149 IX 6.6 3,860

26.12.1939 Erzincan 32,962 X-XI 7.9 116,720

10.09.1941 Ercifl (Van) 194 VIII 5.9 600

20.12.1942 Erbaa-Niksar (Tokat) 3,000 IX 7.0 32,000

27.11.1943 Hendek (Adapazarı) 336 X 6.6 2,240

26.06.1943 Ladik (Samsun) 2,824 IX-X 7.2 25,000

01.02.1944 Gerede (Bolu) 3,959 X-IX 7.2 20,865

31.05.1946 Varto (Mufl) – Hınıs 839 VIII 7.0 1,986

17.08.1949 Karlıova (Bingöl) 450 IX 7.0 3,000

03.01.1952 Hasankale (Erzurum) 133 VIII 5.8 701

18.03.1953 Yenice (Gönen) 265 IX 7.4 9,670

19.08.1966 Varto (Mufl) 2,394 IX 6.9 20,0007

22.07.1967 Adapazarı 89 IX 7.2 7,116

28.03.1970 Gediz (Kütahya) 1,086 IX 7.2 9,452

22.05.1971 Bingöl 878 VIII 6.7 5,617

06.09.1975 Lice (Diyarbakır) 2,385 VIII 6.9 8,149

24.11.1976 Muradiye-Çaldıran (Van) 3,840 IX 7.2 9,552

30.10.1983 Erzurum (Kars) 1,155 VIII 6.9 3,241

13.03.1992 Erzincan 653 VIII 6.8 6,702

14.08.1996 Mezitözü (Çorum) 1 VI 5.6 707

27.06.1998 Ceyhan (Adana) 146 VIII 6.2 1,338

17.08.1999 ‹zmit-Marmara 17,127+ X 7.8 (Ms) 50,000

12.11.1999 Bolu-Düzce 798 X 7.5 (Ms) 20,503

Bold indicates more than 1,000 deaths.

F A C T S H E E T

FS I 03/020238

NOTABLE MARMARA REGION EARTHQUAKES

F A C T S H E E T

According to historical records gleaned from books, paintings, financial records and other documentsthere have been devastating earthquakes in Istanbul throughout history. These are recorded as earlyas the year 325. Significant Marmara area earthquakes from the 20th Century are also listed below.

DATE AREA LIVES LOST STRENGTH MAG HEAVILY(MS) DAMAGED BLDGS

325 IX

427 IX

553 IX

865 IX

986 IX

1344 IX

1462 IX

1509 IX 7.2

1556 7.2

1659 IX

1719 7.4

1766 IX 7.4

1841 6.1

1894 X 7.3

1912 Saros-Marmara 216 X 7.4 5,540

1935 Marmara 6.4

1953 Yenice / Gönen 265 IX 7.2 9,670

1953 Edirne 5.2

1963 Çınarcık / Yalova 1 VII 6.4 230

1964 Manyas 23 IX 6.9 5,398

1965 Saros 5.9

1967 Mudurnu / Adapazarı 89 IX 7.1 7,116

1975 Saros 6.6

1999 Kocaeli 17,000+ X 7.8 50,000Izmit / Marmara

FS I 04/0202 39

1999 EARTHQUAKES IN TURKEY: GENERAL INFORMATION

F A C T S H E E T

17 August 1999 Izmit (Gölcük-East Marmara) Earthquake

Date: 17/08/1999Origin Time: 00:01 :39.1 (GMT); 03:01 (L.T)Coordinates: 40.750 N-29.860ELocation: Golcuk/ Izmit-East MarmaraIntensity (MSK): XMagnitude: Ms (Surface Wave Magnitude) = 7.8 (USGS-USA)

Mb (Body Wave Magnitude) = 6.3 (USGS-USA)Mw (Moment Magnitude) = 7.4 (ISK-Kandilli; USGS-USA)

# Dead: 17.480# Injured: 43.953# Houses/Buildings Destroyed: 73.342# Damaged buildings: 244.383# People affected: 16 Million# Cities affected: 10

17 August Izmit Earthquake occured at the north of the branch of theNorthern Anatolian Fault Zone that divides into two in the west. For thefirst time in our country first time about seven cities and many otherlocations were directly affected by this earthquake. After the earthquakethe upper branch of the Northern Anatolian Fault Zone divided into threeparts between Lake Sabanca, Lake Sabanca-Akyazi, and Akyazi-Golyaka.The length of the surface rupture that is clear in the field observatoriesis about 110km. The length of the west branch of the rupture is about72km at the boundaries of Yalova-Cinarcik.

12 November 1999 Duzce EarthquakeDate: 12/11/1999Origin Time: 16:57:19.5(GMT), 18:57 (L.T.)Coordinates: 40.76 N- 31.16ELocation: Duzce-KaynasliIntensity (MSK): IXMagnitude: Ms (Surface Wave Magnitude) = 7.5 (USGS-USA)

Mb (Body Wave Magnitude) = 6.3 (USGS-USA)Md (Duration Magnitude) = 6.5 (ISK-Kandilli)Mw (Moment Magnitude) = 7.2 (ISK-Kandilli, HRW-USA)

FS I 04/020240

INFORMATION ABOUT THE

1999 EARTHQUAKES

# Dead: 763# Injured: 4.948# Houses/Buildings Destroyed: 35.519# Damaged buildings: 133.496# People affected: 16 Million# Cities affected: 9

12 November 1999 Duzce Earthquake occured on the Akyazi-Golkayasegment that ruptured in the Marmara Earthquake, triggering the Duzcefault. After the Duzce earthquake a new rupture of about 40 km lengthoccured. This rupture is along both parallel and jumping segments thatoccured as a result of the oblique fault’s vertical and right lateralmovement.

The 12 November Duzce Earthquake reveals about 40km new rupture.We have studied the earthquake damage along the Northern AnatolianFault Zone up until now, and the seismic pattern of is Main Shock+Aftershock. This special pattern fits the Northen Anatolian Fault system.

FS I 05/0202 41

HOW MANY EARTHQUAKES ARE THERE EACH YEAR?

F A C T S H E E T

There are an estimated 3,500,000 earthquakes every year. Most aren’t even recorded. About 30,000 of them are felt somewhere in the world.

MAGNITUDE DESCRIPTION AVERAGE PER INTENSITY NEAR YEAR EPICENTER

0 – 2.9 - 3,165,000 Recorded, not felt

3.0 – 3.9 MINOR 49,000 Felt by some

4.0 – 4.9 LIGHT 6,200 Felt by many

5.0 – 5.9 MODERATE 800 Slight damage

6.0 – 6.9 STRONG 120 Damaging

7.0 – 7.9 MAJOR 18 Destructive

8.0 – 8.9 GREAT 1 in 10-20 years Devastating

Source: USGS

FS I 06/020242

EARTHQUAKES AROUND THE WORLD

F A C T S H E E T

Around the world more than 1.5 million people have died in earthquakes in this century. The worst are shown in bold.

YEAR REGIONS DEATHS MAGNITUDE NOTES

856 Corinth Greece 45,000

1290 Chihli, China 100,000 6.7

1556 Shensi, China 830,000 lots of damage

1737 Calcutta, India 300,000 moderate damage

1755 Lisbon, Portugal 70,000 buildings collapsed, tsunamis, fires left tens of thousands dead, priceless

artwork lost

1828 Echigo, Japan 30,000

1906 San Francisco, California, USA 3,000 8.2 – 8.3 San Francisco fire

1906 Santiago, Chile 20,000 8.6

1908 Messina, Italy 70,000+ 7.5 lots of damage

1920 Gansu, China 200,000 8.5 lots of damage

1923 Kanto (Tokyo-Yokohama) Japan 143,000 8.3 great Tokyo fire

1935 Quetta, India 30,000+ 7.5

1939 Chillan, Chile 28,000 8.3

1939 Erzincan, Turkey 33,000 7.9 lots of damage

1960 Agadir, Morocco 14,000 7.3

1962 Northwestern Iran 12,230 7.3

1964 Alaska, USA 131 8.3

1968 Iran 12,000+ 7.4

1970 Northern Peru 66,000 6.5 – 7.7 $530 million damage, rock slide

1971 San Fernando, CA 65 6.5 $550 million damage

FS I 06/0202 43

YEAR REGIONS DEATHS MAGNITUDE NOTES

1972 Managua, Nicaragua 5,000 6.2

1975 Liaoning, predicted whenHaicheng, China 1,380 7.5 underground water levels

and animals living underground were observed;1,000,000 people evacuated

1976 Guatemala 22,778 7.5

1976 Tangshan, China 255,000 7.8 lots of damage

1978 Northest Iran 25,000+ 7.7

1983 Erzurum, Turkey 1,342 6.9

1985 Michoacan, Mexico 9,500 8.1 30,000 injured, $3 billion damage

1988 Northest Armenia 25,000 6.8 19,000 injured,$16.2 million damage

1989 Loma Prieta, CA 54 7.1 3.757 injured,$5.6 million damage

1990 Northwest Iran 40,000 - 50,000 7.7

1992 Erzincan 498 6.8 $.5 million damage

1994 Northridge, CA 57 6.7 $30 million damage

1995 Kobe, Japan 6,000 6.9

1999 Kocaeli, Turkey 17,480+ 7.8 43,953 injured, lots of damage

1999 Bolu - Duzce, Turkey 763 7.2 lots of damage

1999 Athens, Greece 143 5.8 slight damage

1999 Oaxaca, Mexico 31 7.5

2000 Taiwan 2,400 7.7

2000 Solawesi, Indonesia 46 7.5

2001 El Salvador 844 7.8

2001 El Salvador 314 6.5

2001 Gujarat, India 20,000+ 8.0

2001 Seattle, WA 1 6.4

EARTHQUAKES AROUND THE WORLD

FS I 07/020244

F A C T S H E E T

MODERN MYTHS

Myth #1: Big earthquakes always happen early in the morning. Theyalways happen when it’s hot and quiet.

If the two most recent earthquakes happened at the same time of the day,or in the same season, people tend to think that that is when mostearthquakes happen. In fact earthquakes, happen at all times of the dayand night, and in all seasons. So we need to be protected in the places welive, work, study, and spend our time, and at all times of the year.

Myth #2: Everyone who appears on TV is an expert in the subjecthe is talking about.

Unfortunately it’s hard to know exactly who to listen to on any particularsubject. In general we’d like to hear from scientists who are experts intheir field. But sometimes the media asks people to comment on thingsoutside their area of expertise. When it comes to scientists there are manydifferent specialty areas of study. If you want to know about someone’sexpertise you might ask: Where did they study? What advanced degrees dothey have? Have they done any research on this topic? What countries havethey studied in. What languages do they read? Have they written articlespublished in peer-reviewed journals?

Myth #3: All of a sudden there are so many earthquakes.You can probably remember the large eathquakes that have happenedsince the Kocaeli earthquake in 1999. (Duzce, Athens, Taiwan, Gujarat). Tryto remember the large earthquakes that happened before the Kocaeliearthquake. Not so easy. This is because, we are now aware ofearthquakes. When we didn’t realize it could happen to us, we didn’t pay asmuch attention to what was going on either in Turkey or in other places inthe world (1992, Erzincan, 1995 Dinar and 1998 Ceyhan).

Myth #4: The earth will open and swallow us up.No. This happens mostly in story books. There are faults everywhere. It’snot possible to know which ones will become active and where new oneswill appear. But you won’t fall into a big black hole.

Myth #5: Make a 1m x 1m box of books, to survive a building collapse.This is expensive and unnecessary. Before your building collapses you canbe injured by the moving container. No one can tell you how to survive in acollapsed building.

FS I 07/0202 45

MODERN MYTHS

Myth #6: Head for a doorway.No. Old news. This came from one picture of a California adobe housewhere the only thing left was the doorways. Doorways with strong woodenor steel beams that are part of load bearing walls may be safe. Doorwaysin cosmetic walls and unreinforced concrete buildings may not be safe.

Myth #7: Lie down by a refrigerator.No. This came from examples of buildings being pulled down or and thestrong white appliances had small empty spaces by them (called “trianglesof life”) where people might have survived. Unfortunately, we cannot predictwhere we will find these life triangles. With strong shaking the refrigeratoritself might fall over and kill you. A gas pipe may be broken. If you attachyour low appliances to the wall (washing machine, dishwasher) these mayhold up large falling objects. If not, these objects themselves can slide, fall,and hurt you. At the same time, you also need to be safe from cabinets andtheir contents and flying objects from across the room. Search and Rescueprofessionals and engineers are trying to learn more about the safest placesin buildings. However, if you are close to strong shaking, you may not be ableto move at all. Once again, there is nothing that anyone can tell you that willsave your life if your building pancakes.

Myth #8 They know when the earthquake is - they just aren't telling.No. “They” really don’t know. Earthquake science is new. The best“predictions” we have are that there is a 70% likelihood of a majorearthquake along the Northern Anatolian Fault system, in the MarmaraSea, within the next 30 years. Today. Tomorrow. Next year. In 35 years, 7 months and 3 days...? No one knows. Scientists are contantly looking fornew methods that will help them to forecast when and where majorearthquakes will occur.

Myth #9 My brother’s friend’s barber knows the mayor and...Rumor. Rumor. Rumor. How many false prophets have there been,predicting earthquakes on this date or that date, at this time or that time.These legends are built upon our fears. They aren’t much different than the stories that ancient people told their children. Use your common sense.Complain if you see these things taking up time and space in the massmedia. Let’s be serious.

Myth #10 It’s up to God.When and where the earth shakes is something over which we have no control. But God gave us all brains. It up to us to use our brains. We need to use what we know to protect ourselves and our loved ones, and tolearn more.

FS II 01/020246

F A C T S H E E T

EUROPEAN MACROSEISMIC SCALE

The European Macroseismic Scale provides a useful measure of therelative damage caused by a particular earthquake.

I NOT FELT Not felt, even under the most favourable circumstances.

II SCARCELY FELT Vibration is felt only by individual people at rest in houses, especially onupper floors of buildings.

III WEAK The vibration is weak and is felt indoors by a few people. People at restfeel a swaying or light trembling.

IV LARGELY OBSERVED The earthquake is felt indoors by many people, outdoors by very few. Afew people are awakened. The level of vibration is not frightening.Windows, doors and dishes rattle. Hanging objects swing.

V STRONG The earthquake is felt indoors by most, outdoors by few. Many sleepingpeople awake. A few run outdoors. Buildings tremble throughout.Hanging objects swing considerably. China and glasses clatter together.The vibration is strong. Top heavy objects topple over. Doors andwindows swing open or shut.

VI SLIGHTLY DAMAGING Felt by most indoors and by many outdoors. Many people in buildings are frightened and run outdoors. Small objects fall. Slight damage tomany ordinary buildings e.g.; fine cracks in plaster and small pieces ofplaster fall.

VII DAMAGING Most people are frightened and run outdoors. Furniture is shifted andobjects fall from shelves in large numbers. Many ordinary buildingssuffer moderate damage: small cracks in walls; partial collapse ofchimneys.

5

6

7

FS II 01/0202 47

VIII HEAVILY DAMAGING Furniture may be overturned. Many ordinary buildings suffer damage:chimneys fall; large cracks appear in walls and a few buildings maypartially collapse.

IX DESTRUCTIVE Monuments and columns fall or are twisted. Many ordinary buildingspartially collapse and a few collapse completely.

X VERY DESTRUCTIVE Many ordinary buildings collapse.

XI DEVASTATINGMost ordinary buildings collapse.

XII COMPLETELY DEVASTATING Practically all structures above and below ground are heavily destroyed.

Every earthquake has is measured with one magnitude, and may have many different intensities. In the example below, a magnitude 7earthquake is experienced as a 4 where the home is located and an 8where the person is standing.

8

9

10

EUROPEANMACROSEISMIC SCALE

X IX

VIII

VII

VI V

IV

III

II

I

FS III 01/020248

EARTHQUAKE HAZARD HUNT

F A C T S H E E T

Hazards we found: Dates corrected:

W e ’ r e G e t t i n g R e a d y ! Good luck! - Prof. Dr. Ahmet Mete Ifl›kara

• Check for things that can fall and for things that can slide.• Anything heavy that's placed high up? Move it below the head

level of the shortest family member. • Bracket furniture to walls. • Securely fasten pictures on closed hooks, • Secre lighting fixtures to ceiling. • Consider replacing kitchen cabinets latches with ones that will

hold shut during a quake.• Remove glass bottles from anywhere near bathtubs (You may

need to fill the tub after a quake for washing water).• Check for any hazardous materials (poisons, flammable

materials) to make sure they are secure.• How about the hot water heater? (It may need plumbers tape to

fasten it to the wall).

As you tackle what needs to be done, prioritize the items as follows:1. Secure life threatening items first (eg. wardrobe in bedroom or thing blocking exit)2. Secure those things that would entail significant economic loss (eg. computer, a/v equipment)3. Secure those items that will let you live more comfortably (eg. family heirlooms, breakables)

The Earthquake Hazard Hut should begin at home, with all family members participating.Imagination, and common sense are all that are needed as you go from room to room and thinkabout what would happen when the earth and house start shaking. Check places where yourfamily spends most of its time - where the family sleeps, eats, works and plays. Do somedetective work! Make a list of what needs to be done and tackle it one by one until it's finished!

FS III 02/0202 49

F A C T S H E E T

FAMILY DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PLAN

Enter date of completion:

We held a family meeting to discuss our Family Disaster Plan.

We identified the safest places in the house, and in each room. (Away from windows, large and heavy objects that can fall, and objects like heaters that can cause fire.)

We identified exits and alternative exits from our house and building.

We considered the special provisions we need for pets, people who don't speak thelanguage of the country, elderly, disabled, and small children.

We have enough water to last us a week (4 liters per person per day), and food for 3 days.

We know how to turn off our electricity, water and gas.

We completed the hazard hunt and eliminated the hazards from our home.

We know our out-of-area contact person(s) and phone number(s): It's:

We know where we would reuniteInside the house:Outside the house:Outside the neighborhood:

We know how to use a fire extinguishers.

We keep shoes and flashlights by our beds.

We have a good first aid kit.

We collected our survival supplies, and made up our earthquake bags. (Flashlight,batteries, radio, first aid kit, change of clothes, cash, whistle, matches, 1 week prescriptionmedication, paper and pencil, important phone numbers.)

We made our copies of important documents, and key addresses and phone numbers, andkeep them in our earthquake bag or with our out-of-area contact.

We know never to light a match, lighter, or any other flame after an earthquake until we aresure there is no danger of escaping gas anywhere around.

We're starting to spread the word to everyone we know.

We know that we will only use the telephone in an emergency after an earthquake, so that thelines will be there for those who need them most.. We will get our information from TV and radio.

We have completed our Earthquake Hazard Hunt. We have taken measures to protect ourselves.

We plan to review our plan again every 6 months.

name

address

e-mail

telephone date

W e ’ r e G e t t i n g R e a d y ! Good luck! - Prof. Dr. Ahmet Mete Ifl›kara

FS III 03/020250

COALINGA SCHOOLS REPORT

F A C T S H E E T

At 4:42 p.m. on Monday, May 2, 1983, an earthquake registering 6.5 on theRichter scale struck the Coalinga area. Seconds later there was an aftershockof 5.0 Richter magnitude.

Coalinga has three elementary schools, one junior high, and one high school,serving approximately 1,900 students. The school buildings were constructedbetween 1939 and 1955. They contain 75 classrooms, plus gymnasiums,auditoriums, libraries, and multipurpose rooms. Superintendent Terrell believesthat death and serious injury would have occurred if school had been in session.The following is an account of the nonstructural damage to these schools:

WindowsLarge windows received and caused the most damage. The 31-year-old juniorhigh library had glass windows approximately 8ft x 10 ft on the north and southwalls. The glass was not tempered. All the windows imploded and littered theroom with dagger-shaped pieces of glass. Floor tiles and wooden furniturewere gouged by flying splinters.

Lighting Fixtures Approximately 1,000 florescent bulbs fell from their fixtures and broke. All of the fixtures in the elementary schools came down, and many in otherbuildings. None of the hanging fixtures had safety chains. Glass in the olderrecessed fixtures was shaken out and broken.

CeilingsImproperly installed T-bar ceilings came down. Glued ceiling tiles also fell,especially around vent ducting and cutouts for light fixtures.

Basements and Electrical Supply Water pipes which came into the buildings through concrete walls weresevered by the movement of the walls. Basements were flooded to five feet.Since all the electrical supply and switching mechanisms for these buildingswere in the basements, all of them were destroyed by water.

Chemical Spills In the second-floor high school chemistry lab, bottles of sulfuric acid and otherchemicals stored in open cabinets overturned and broke. Acid burned throughto the first floor. Cupboard doors sprang open and glass cabinet doors broke,allowing chemicals to spill. Because there was no electric ventilation, toxicfumes permeated the building.

Furnishings and Miscellaneous Items File cabinets flew across rooms; free-standing bookcases, cupboards,cabinets, and shelves fell over. Machine shop lathes and presses fell over.Typewriters flew through the air. Metal animal cages and supplies stored ontop of seven-foot cabinets crashed to the floor. Movie screens and mapsbecame projectiles. Storage cabinets in the high school had been fastened tothe wall with molly bolts, but they were not attached to studs. They pulled outof the wall and fell to the floor with their contents.

(Based on a report prepared by E. Robert Bulman for Charles S. Terrell, Jr., Superintendent ofSchools for San Bernardino County, California.)

FS III 04/0202 51

NON-STRUCTURAL HAZARD MITIGATION AT HOME

F A C T S H E E T

Non-structural mitigation is one of the least expensive ways to decreasethe incidence of injury. Here are a few of the identified hazards andsome suggested solutions:

WINDOW AND MIRROR GLASS

Sharp shards may fall or be thrown across a room. Consider safety glass,wire glass or solar/safety film. The solar/safety film has the advantage ofimproving the insulatig factor of the window. The energy saving may payfor the cost of the film. There are cost-free protective meaures that youcan use if the glass where you are is not safety type. You can pull downand close shutters or draw drapes. Even blinds that are pulled down, butnot closed, offer some additional protection from flying glass.

HEAVY FURNITURE

Furniture will move and fall duing many types of disasters,especiallytall, top-heavy items. Secure the furniture to the wall. Use braidedmetal cable, chain, or angle brackets and appropriate bolts for your wall type.

Secure it if it’s taller than it is wide!

GAS APPLIANCES

Your stove, water heater, furnace, clothes dryer, etc. may run on naturalgas or propane. Unsecured gas appliances may crush someone orrupture their gas feed line during a quake. If these objects move ortopple the resulting gas leak may destroy your home – a home whichwould otherwise have survived with only minor damage. Secure all gasappliances to a wall and use flexible gas lines. The flexible gas lineshould be longer than necessary to allow for some movement. Theappliance should be secured top and bottom to prevent tipping, rollingand sliding.

REFRIGERATORS

Refrigerators are extremely heavy and most of them are on wheels.Beause of their weight they may crush someone if they move and tip.Secure refrigerators to the wall to insure they remain in place andupright during any earth movement.

FS III 04/020252

HANGING PICTURES, MIRRORS, CLOCKS ETC.

Anything simply hanging on a wall will come flying off in a large shake.Use an appropriately sized eyebolt for lighter items. Larger item willrequire an anchor or bolt.

DECORATIVE ITEMS AND BRIC-A-BRAC ON SHELVES, BOOKCASES ETC.

Unsecured objects will fall during a shock. Run a wire, monofilamentfishing line, guardrail, chain or elastic strap across the shelf front. (1/3the height of the shelf from the bottom). Objects can be secured in placewith hook-and-loop tape, 2-sided tape, or quake wax. Place large orheavy objects on the bottom shelf. Heavy items can be secured withindustrial strength -hook-and-loop tape.

CROCKERY CUPBOARD ITEMS

Cupboards will open and spill their contents during a quake. Put heavyitems on bottom shelves and use safety latches inside to prevent doorsfrom opening.

FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS

Spilled flammable liquids may cause fire and destroy a home that wouldhave survived undamaged. Store all flammable liquids outside, in theiroriginal/proper containers, away from structures and vehicles. If youmust store flammable liquids in your home store them in the garage,keep them in a cabinet with locking doors, and always store them on thelowest shelf.

BED LOCATION

Plate glass may break during a disaster. Relocate beds away fromwindows and tall heavy futniture. Apply safety film to windows wherepossible. Close windows and blinds at night.

NON-STRUCTURALHAZARD MITIGATION

AT HOME

FS III 05/0202 53

F A C T S H E E T

NON-STRUCTURAL HAZARD MITIGATIONAT WORK

Good employees are your most valuable asset. Protect them with a safeworking environment.

EQUIPMENT AND FURNISHINGS• Strap rows of multple file cabinets, mainframe computers, book

cases, etc. together. High racks should be secured together on topand to the floor on the bottom.

• Secure desktop computers, typewriters and other equipment.• Keep computer CPUs on the floor next to their work stations.• Secure cabinet doors with positive latches.• Store hazardous materials correctly and educate all your employees

about them.• Secure freestanding, moveable partitionsSecure anyth›ng heavy that is at or above desktop level!

OVERHEAD OBJECTS

Seen and unseen objects overhead and above suspended ceilings may posehazards to workers below. Secure all objects that are above desktop level.

• Check for diagonal bracing wires in suspended ceilings.• Ensure proper restraint of “stem” light fixtures and flourescent light

panels.• Securely attach decorative ceiling panels, spotlight, speakers, air

conditioning units, etc.• Check above suspended ceilings for poorly attched ducts, cables, etc.

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT

Shock hazards exist if unsecured electrical equipment breaks itsconnections or exposes energized lines. Unsecured equipment may shortout the power in your office or building.

• Secure any electrically powered equipment• Have backup power generator for emergency lighting and to protect

computers against data loss. Ensure that generators, their fueltanks, battery packs, and fuel lines are properly secured.

• Secure emergency lighting.• Secure telecommunication equipment, switches, and control boxes.• If you use an automatic generator to work during power outage, be

sure that it is fitted with a seismic safety shut-off valve to avoid firehazard. The generator should be turned on only when there’s nodanger from flammable gases or liquids.

FS III 05/020254

PLANT EQUIPMENTLoss of plant equipment may prevent you from continuing your businessafter a quake. Secure water heaters, furnaces, boilers, fans, pumps,heating, ventilating, airconditioning equipment, and the ducting or pipesthat go with them.

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

Unsecured or improperly stored hazardous chemicals may force yourbusiness out of an otherwise undamaged building.

• Secure large containers of production chemicals or cleaningsupplies.

• Ensure that all toxic items are in the correct containers andproperly labelled.

• Ensure that all employees know what to do in case of a spill.

FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS

Gasoline, thinner, paints and some cleaning materials are highlyflammable.

• Keep all large containers or vats of toxic, hot, or hazarouds itemscovered to prevent spills in an earthquake.

• Store flammable and hazardous materials properly. Remember theacronym L.I.E.S. – Limit, isolate, eliminate, separate.

• Limit the amount of hazardous materials stored.• Isolate products in approved containers, and store them

inside closed cabinets.• Eliminate products that are no longer necessary by

disposing of them properly• Separate incompatible materials (e.g. chlorine products and

ammonia).

EMPLOYEES• Establish an education and awareness program for work and home.

Encourage family involvement.• Encourage employees to be prepared at home and work.• Give each employee specific instructions as to areas of

responsibility before, during and after a disaster.• Establish a good safety program. Keep the employees continuously

informed regarding hazards, safety warnings, emergency plans, andsupplies.

NEIGHBORS

Find out what your business neighbors do. Their enterprise may put yourbusiness in greater jeopardy and you may need to plan for problemsrelated to their potential problems.

NON-STRUCTURALHAZARD MITIGATION

AT WORK

FS III 06/0202 55

SAFE DRINKING WATER

F A C T S H E E T

WATER IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEM TO STORE

Loss of safe drinking water can be deadly. Most people, with fewexceptions, will be feeling the effects if they do without water for more than36 hours. Dehydration occurs much more quickly than starvation. Ourbodies can tolerate loss of food much better. With an ample water supply,starvation is delayed many days, even weeks. The city water supply isvulnerable to the effects of a large earthquake. Contaminants can get intothe drinking water supply through ruptures in the pipes, through themixing up of sediments, through the adulteration of filtering systems, etc.Now we take our water for granted. That will be dangerous after a bigquake.

How Much Should I Store?A good rule of thumb is 20 litres per person minimum. Four litres of wterper person per day for 1 week (2 litters for drinking and 2 for washing andsanitation) is a good idea.

WATER SOURCES• Bottled drinking water in sealed containers • 5 , 10, 20 litre sealable water containers. Be sure to sanitize the

container and treat the water that you are storing. Do not store any plastic water container directly on concrete. The concretewill leech chemicals, contaminating it and degrading the plastic, causingfailure.

Purifying Your Tap WaterStore all plastic water containers on a wooden pallet or shelf. Keep watercontainers in a location where container failure will not destroy your othersupplies. Keep all water and supplies in a cool dark place.

Any water that you make up yourself needs to be treated. If left untreatedover time, it becomes contaminated with bacteria and algae

• Use 2 drops of pure unscented liquid bleach per litre of water toreduce contaminants.

• Add the bleach when you first store the water away.

Note: Rotate your water every six months (including the store-boughtbottles and the supply made up from tap water).

FS III 06/020256

If the pur›ty of your water source is questionable, use the followingmethods to make the water safe to drink:

• BEST! Add liquid chlorine bleach to the water 2 drops per liter ofwater. (Double this dose if the water is cloudy.

• GOOD! Add 2% tincture of iodine to the water - 3 drops per liter.(Double this dose if the water is cloudy.

• ACCEPTABLE! Boil the water vigorously for 10 minutes.

Don’t forget to clean and sanitize your food and water containers beforeusing them. Wash with soap and water then fill with a 10% bleach solution.After 5 minutes, empty the bleach solution and let air dry.

Water that is dirty should first be strained through a coffee filter,cheesecloth or paper towel to remove suspended matter.

Gett›ng The Water Out Of Your Water Heater• Use extreme caution. Let the water cool• Turn off the cold water supply to the tank• Turn off the gas or electric heater for the tank.• Open the drain valve at the bottom of the tank.

Remember: Some sediment at the bottom of the tank may at first makewater flowing out look murky. Continue to drain water until it becomesclear.

OTHER SOURCES OF WATER IN YOUR HOME• Toilet Water Storage Tank. Note: use the water from the tank, not

the toilet bowl. (Don’t drink the water if you use coloring orchemicals in it).

• Melted ice cubes• Water-packed canned goods• Water trapped in home piping. Water can be removed by locating

nd shutting off the main water valve. Then open the valve at thehighest point of your home (eg. upstairs, shower). Then, when youopen the valve at the lowest point gravity will force the water fromthe pipes.

Do not drink swimm›ng pool or spa water. Th›s contains many tox›cchem›cals and can g›ve you darrhea, caus›ng dehydration.

SAFE DRINKING WATER

FS III 07/0202 57

EMERGENCY FOOD SUPPLY

F A C T S H E E T

Food is important for post-earthquake survival. Psychologists tell us thatpeople who have experienced a severe emotional trauma may give up onlife and can even die from the depression which follows.

Psychologically, a normal and healthy diet can lessen the emotionaltrauma of a disaster. Therefore we recommend that people store suppliesfor a disaster that are as close as possible to their normal fare. The foodmust be of a type that stores well. The minimum time that food should beable to last without refrigeration is 6 months.

The information here is to give the person who wants to store emergencyfood supplies some ideas. It is not intended as a shopping list. In each ofthe categories there is more food listed than should be needed. Thinkabout the tastes and needs of your family.

ROTATING PERISHABLE SUPPLIESRotating supplies every 6 MONTHS is the key. Not because everything willgo bad in six months, but because you need to make rotating supplies partof your normal habits. The easiest way to remember to rotate is to changeyour supplies every time you change your clocks for “daylight savingstime”. Remember, when you rotate your clocks, you rotate your supplies.

The easier it is for you to think about doing it, the more apt you are to do itcontinuously. When you rotate your supplies, don’t throw them out, putthem in the pantry and use them. Nothing has to go to waste.

Remember: Your supplies rotation should include (but is not limited to)batteries, food, water, medications. Don’t forget to check and shake thatfire extinguisher while you’re at it.

SAMPLE FOOD ITEMSIt is prudent to keep at least 7 days worth of supplies per person pluspets. These supplies should be nonperishables with long shelf lives. Theyshould be stored in a cool, dry and dark place. Heat and moisture speedthe spoilage of food.

The following is a list of a few sample items. You should keep items thatyou and your family will eat. Try and select items that you use daily in yourhome. Try to plan as if you’re going on a camping vacation for 7 days,because this is essentially what you will be doing.

Remember to consume what you have in your refrigerator first, then yourfreezer, then your stored goods.

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EMERGENCY FOOD SUPPLY

SAMPLE FOOD STORAGE ITEMS

Beverages:• Milk – dehydrated or evaporated• Soda• Coffee, tea, instant cocoa (Remember; drinks containing caffeine

will move water through your body faster, so you might considerstoring 50% again more water).

• Powdered beverages • Fruit / tomato / vegetable juices• Sports drinks• Canned soup

Grain products:• Bread (store in freezer)• Pasta• Flour• Soda crackers• Rice

Protein sources:• Canned meat• Canned poultry: chicken, turkey• Canned fish: tuna, salmon, sardines• Cheeses

Fruits and vegetables:• Canned fruit• Canned vegetables• Dried peas• Dried beans• Instant mashed potatoes

Staples:• Salt• Sugar• Cooking oil• Honey

Seasonings and spices:Include seasonings appropriate for the meals you choose to store. Spicefoods increase the consumption of fluids.

Snacks and other foods:• Nuts• Peanut butter• Hard candy• Dried fruit• Dry soup mix

FS III 08/0202 59

HOW TO SHUT OFF UTILITIES

F A C T S H E E T

There is no cost involved in teaching everyone in your home about howand when to turn off the gas, electricity and water after an earthquake.This can be as simple as clearly marking where the shut-off valves are,and posting instructions close by.

Remember, consider shutting off all utilities if you can smell gas, smellor see fire, or see damage to, from, or near the utility lines. It is wise toshut off utilities if you are going to leave the home for extended periodsof time. This is because of the probability of aftershock.

GAS SHUT OFF

Locate main gas shut-off (usually outside your building at the gasmeter). Turn the valve crosswise to the pipe to turn off the gas. All thepilot lights in and around your home will go out when you turn the valveoff. Turn your gas off outside your apartment in your kitchen and anyother locations in your home.

After an earthquake, turn off your gas at the shut off valve if:

• you smell, hear or even suspect gas is escaping in your damagedor undamaged building(s).

• your gas water heater or any other gas appliance has beenknocked over and/or pulled free from its wall connection.

• your building has suffered extensive damage, such as largecracks in the walls or in the concrete slab floors, etc. AND yoususpect the gas lines my have been damaged.

• you smell smoke and/or see or suspect fire.

Note: If you have none of the above you are probably OK leaving yourutilities on.

WARNING: If you smell gas don’t turn on or off any switches. Don’t useany open flame to check for leaks. Don’t turn on any battery opeatedflashlights, unless it is a safety/waterproof light. Chemical light sticksare a safe source of light in the event of gas leak.

WARNING: It is very dangerous and therefore not recommended thatyou go searching for gas leaks inside any damaged building.

BE AWARE: After an earthquake, aftershocks will continue to occur,possibly causing additional damage (or even first damage) to yourbuilding(s).

REMEMBER: Do not turn the gas valve back on after an earthquake,unless a qualified person has checked extensively for gas leaks.

60

AUTOMATIC GAS SHUT-OFF VALVESAutomatic gas shut-off valves are an excellent way to ensure that your gas isshut off in the case of a major earthquake. With an automatic valve your gaswill be off even if you aren’t home at the time. Contact your local gascompany for more information and installation.

ELECTRICAL SHUT OFFFirst locate all of your home’s electrical panels. Note: There may be more thanone. Your house may be equipped with fuses or circuit breakers. If your house hasfuses, you will find a knife switch handle or pullout fuse that should be marked“MAIN”. If your house has circuit breakers, you may need to open the metal doorof the breaker box to reveal the circuit breakers (never remove the metal cover).The main circuit breaker should be clearly marked showing on and off positions.

Remove all the small fuses or turn off all the small breakers first, then shutoff the “MAIN”. If you have any sub-panels adjacent to the main fuse orbreaker panel or in other parts of the house, in an emergency, be safe andshut them off too. Shorts can sometimes develop that cause a circuit tobypass the breaker or fuse. Turn off and unplug your major appliances,television, stereo and computer equipment. If you leave these plugged inthen when the electricity returns, the power surges can damage these items.

WATER SHUT OFFLocate the main water service pipe into your house (probably in the front atthe basement level). You will see a gate valve on the pipe. If you know you haveleaks after an earthquake, you can shut off all water in your house with thisvalve. You may wish to paint the valve so it is easy to find in an emergency. Youcan shut off all water to your property by finding the water meter box. Openthe cover. Be sure to identify this box and the water valve inside before theneed to use them arises. Turn the valve clockwise to turn it off.

EMERGENCY LIGHTINGDon’t use matches, candles, or oil lamps, especially right after the earthquake.Aftershocks are coming and they could cause candles or oil lamps to fall,causing fires. Immediately after an earthquake there is the danger of naturalgas or propane leaks and any source of flame could cause an explosion.

Emergency lighting choices include:

• Flashlight or battery-operated lantern for the home (plus extrabatteries and change them).

• Flashlights/penlight for personal use.• Power failure lights (the type left plugged into wall, or rechargeable)• Chemical light sticks (very safe light source)• Gas/propane lanterns (plus mantles, matches, fuel). Protect these

lamps from falling or being knocked over during aftershocks.• Portable electric generator (plus fuel). Remember, light requires little

energey from a generator. A 200-watt light bulb will light a camp wellenough to read by. Creating heat or cold requires large amounts ofelectricity. Purchase your generator with sufficient power for your needs.

HOW TO SHUT OFF UTILITIES

FS III 08/0202

FS III 09/0202 61

FIRST AID KIT

F A C T S H E E T

Prepare a first aid kit for both your house and your car. The kit should contain the following items:

• Bandaids of different sizes

• 5x5 cm sterile gauze bandage (4 - 6 pieces)

• 10x10 cm sterile gauze bandage (4 - 6 pieces)

• Antiallergic bandage adhesive (1 roll)

• Triangular bandage (3 pieces)

• 5 cm wide bandage roll (3 pieces)

• 10 cm wide bandage roll (3 pieces)

• Scissors

• Tweezers

• Latex gloves

• Safety pin

• Pen

• Note pad

• Flashlight

• Whistle

• Oil pencil

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F A C T S H E E T

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS

TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION

After a major disaster most of our normal methods of communicationwill be interrupted. Telephones will be out, the mail won’t be delivered(you may not have a home to deliver to) or you may be isolated at workand unable to travel to your family. Immediately afer an earthquake,your phones will probably not work. This could be because of damage toswitching centers, local phone lines, and trunk lines. It could be thatpower to operate the phone systems itself is unavailable.

The number one cause of phone failures is too many phones off the hook atone time. Many will be off the hook because they were knocked over in theshock, but a larger number will be because everyone is trying to call friendsand family. This overload can damage the phone companies’ switchingsystems. To prevent his damage, whole sections will shut downautomatically when a certain percentage of phones are off the hook.

It’s normal to want to check on your family, or let family know you’reOK. But, we need to limit our calls if we want the system to work at all.The solution to this problem is to have one out-of-area contact for allyou family members. This way all your relatives and friends will not betying up the phone lines trying to get you and you them. Long distancelines do not go down from too many calls or phones falling off the hook.Another advantage is that if an earthquake shuts down the long distancelines, these lines will be one of the first lines returned to service. Youwill be able to reach someone out of the area before you could reachsomeone next door.

When you reach your out-of-area contact keep it short and quick. Thephone system may go out again any time. Give your condition and thecondition of the family members you know about. Get information onmembers who are not with you. Tell them you’ll call them in a few days.Then say good-bye and hang up.

Use the sample “Out-of-area contact cards”. Fill these out and givethem to all your family and friends. Copy extras if needed. This systemhas proven that it works!

CELL PHONES

Cellular telephones are really radios on a network. They can’t talk toeach other, but must use a cell site to connect calls. It is recommendedthat if you plan to use cell phones to communicate after a disaster thatthey be on the same network or service provider system as the peopleyou want to talk to.

HAM RADIO COMMUNICATION

Ham radio is a mainstay of disaster communications. A ham radioassociation can help you learn these skills.

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F A C T S H E E T

EMERGENCY OUT-OF-AREA CONTACT FOR

.........................................................FAMILY

name: name:

phone numbers: phone numbers:

address: address:

EMERGENCY CONTACT CARDS

1. Call a friend or relative who lives outside the area and ask them to be your family’s “out-of-area contact”.

2. Explain to them that after a disaster they will be your surest means of communicating withother family members, both in and out of the area. Make sure that they understand that itwill be their responsibility to be available to take calls immediately following a disaster inyour own area. Give that person a list of phone numbers for your family and friends thatshould be notified after you call.

3. Agree to do the same for your contact in case disaster should strike their area.4. Notify all you friends and family members that this one person will be the person to

contact if they need to get a message to you. Tell them not to try to call you directly.5. Completely fill in the contact card. It should be typed or printed in ink and then

“plasticized” to protect it from water.6. Have each member of your family carry this card at all times. Copy this page so that you

can have some spare cards in cars, taped to the bottom of your phone at work, etc.7. Have family members in other areas agree on the same out-of-area contact for any family

emergency. Plan for an alternate contact in case your main emergency contact person isout of town or otherwise unavailable.

EMERGENCY OUT-OF-AREA CONTACT FOR

.........................................................FAMILY

name: name:

phone numbers: phone numbers:

address: address:

EMERGENCY OUT-OF-AREA CONTACT FOR

.........................................................FAMILY

name: name:

phone numbers: phone numbers:

address: address:

EMERGENCY OUT-OF-AREA CONTACT FOR

.........................................................FAMILY

name: name:

phone numbers: phone numbers:

address: address:

FS IV 01/020264

TIPS FOR DURING AN EARTHQUAKE

F A C T S H E E T

DURING AN EARTHQUAKE

When you first notice an earthquake, if there are others around, shout“EARTHQUAKE!” to warn them. Then everyone should drop, cover and hold.

• Find a safe place and drop.• Cover your head and neck.• Hold on to something secure.• Stay where you are and do not move until the shaking stops.

Duck under a sturdy table or desk, or next to a solid low piece of furnitureor a low appliance. Stay away from windows, bookcases, file cabinets,heavy mirrors, and other heavy objects that could fall. Watch out for fallingplaster and ceiling tiles. Stay under cover until the shaking stops. Holdonto your cover. If it moves, move with it.

Here are some additional tips for specific locations:

• If you are in a high rise building, and you are not near a desk ortable, move against an interior wall, and protect your head with yourarms. Don’t be surprised if the alarm or sprinkler systems come on.Stay indoors. Glass windows can dislodge during the quake and sailfor hundreds of feet.

• If you are outdoors, move to a clear area away from trees, signs,buildings, or electrical wires and poles.

• If you’re on a sidewalk near buildings, duck inside the doorway toprotect yourself from falling bricks, glass, plaster and other debris.

• If you’re driving, pull over to the side of the road and stop. Avoidoverpasses, powerlines, and buildings. Do not get down near yourvehicle because other moving cars may hit you, and your car will be amoving, jumping object. Stay inside the vehicle until the shaking isover.

• If you are in a crowded store or other public place, do not rush forthe exit. Move away from display shelves containing objects thatcould fall.

• If you’re in a wheelchair, stay in it. Move to cover, if possible. Lockyour wheels and protect your head with your arms.

• If you’re in the kitchen, move away from the refrigerator, stove, andoverhead cupboards. (take time now to anchor appliances andinstall latches on cupboard doors to reduce hazards).

• If you’re in a stadium or theatre, stay in your seat and protect yourhead with your arms. Do not try to leave until the shaking is over.Then leave in a calm, orderly manner. Avoid rushing toward exits.

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F A C T S H E E T

INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEMS ACTIVITY

There is an international system for the organization of emergency response. This is known as an “Incident Command System” or a “Standard Emergency Management System. In thissystem in any given area one person functions as a Leader or Incident Commander withassistance from a Communications Operator, and then establishes two branches, Operationsand Logistics, as needed. The Operations arm (the doers) has responsibility for: damageassessment, search and rescue, fire and hazardous materials control, and first aid. TheLogistics arm (the getters) are responsible for obtaining supplies, volunteers, transportation,food and water, shelter and sanitation, and psychological support and supervision.

You can use the lists below to organize work after a disaster. You can use it to mobilizevolunteers for planning and drills.

I. INCIDENT COMMANDER1. Establish the command post in a safe and secure place.2. Identify a wireless radio operator to be your shadow.3. Establish response teams4. Establish priorities from incoming damage assessment reports5. Keep track of all incidences on the Incident Status Record Form6. Maintain Order

II. COMMUNICATIONS

You are the Incident Commander’s shadow. Stay with that person andprovide communications between them and the Emerency OperationsCenter.

1. Contact the Emergency Operations Center through: Follow theirdirections and be brief.

2. Monitor Emergency Radio.3. Identify yourself and your neighborhood and your district.4. Work with Logistics Commander to identify additional communication

channels.

Reminders:

• Maintain contact between COMMAND POST and the Emergency Operations Center.• Never leave radio unattended.

III. OPERATIONS1. Supervise Search & Rescue, Fire Suppression/Hazard Control,

First Aid teams.2. Centralize damage, injury and death reports.3. Maintain contact with Command Post.

III.1. Light Search & Rescue

1. Assign someone to compile initial damage assessment reports.2. Simultaneously A. Form at least one team to do a complete home-to-home check.

B. Form teams to systematically assess all homes in this order:a. Heavy damage (needs professional SAR team)b. Moderate damage (needs light SAR team)c. Light and no damage

O.K.

LOJ.

S . A . Y . S .

OP.

FS V 01/020266

INCIDENT COMMANDSYSTEMS ACTIVITY

3. As problems at each residence are identified and resolved make the universal SARmarkings in an obvious place that can be seen from the front of the house.

4. Each team must document activities using the Damage Assessment Form.5. Maintain contact with the Command Post.

Reminders:

• All teams must have at least two people.• Damage assessment must be redone after every aftershock.

III.2. Fire Suppression: Form teams to safely1. • fight small fires

• isolate potential hazardous materials situations• evaluate utilities

2. Let the damage assessment reports determine which teams should be formed andin which order.

III.3. First Aid

1. Establish treatment area and begin triage.2. Establish a morgue if necessary in a separate area.3. Care for injuries.4. Utilize psychosocial support and supervision team in a separate location.5. Work with Communications to identify nearest hospitals and clinics.6. Work with Logistics to identify alternative methods of transportation.7. Document activites on Medical Team Form.8. Maintain contact with Psychological Support/Supervision team.9. Maintain contact with Command Post.10. Report number of injuries requiring medical attention.

IV. LOGISTICS1. Supervise Shelter/Sanitation and Food/Water teams.2. As necessary establish groups to coordinate: Communications,

Supplies, Transportation, Volunteers, Securitya. Identify alternative methods of communication. (wireless,

telephone, e-mail, radio, trunk radio, t.v.)b. Identify alternative methods of transportation and volunteers.c. Identify supply needs of all teams.d. Organize traffic flow if necessary.e. Provide food and beverages to all teams.f. Maintain contact with the Command Post.

IV.1. Food & Water

1. Organize food and beverage storage.2. Provide snacks and beverages to all teams.3. Organize provision of snacks and beverages.4. Organize provision of meals.

IV.2. Shelter & Sanitation

1. Identify and set up safe and secure locations for shelter and sanitation.2. Establish shelter from weather.3. Check on previously identified vulnerable populations (school children, disabled, elderly)4. Maintain names and addresses of people in shelter.5. Establish temporary toilets.6. Maintain contact with Command Post.

FS V 01/0202 67

IV.3. Psychosocial Support And Supervision

1. Establish safe area and begin triage.2. Care for psychological needs of bereaved and traumatized.3. Organize activities to occupy young children and elderly.4. Maintain contact with First Aid team

These features of Standard Emergency Management Systems make it especially useful fordisaster planning:

• may be adapted to different situations• unified command structure• shared terminology• flexibility• centralized communications• effective action planning• management of resource allocation• manageable span of control• redundancy planning• cross-disciplinary training• sections only mobilized as necessary

INCIDENT COMMANDSYSTEMS ACTIVITY

PLANNING COMMITTEE• Neighborhood Inventory

• Risk Assessment• Public Education

OPERATIONS BRANCH LOGISTICS BRANCH

ADMINISTRATION ANDCOMMUNICATION BRANCH

• Record Keeping• Internal Communications• External Communications

• Public Information

INCIDENT COMMAND CENTER• Incident Commander

• I.C. Deputy• Wireless Radio Operator

Security (eg. student release from schools)

Hazard Identification and Control

Damage Assessment andLight Search and

Rescue

Disaster First Aid and Medical Operations

Shelter and SanitationSmall Fire Suppression

Psychological Supportand Supervision

Volunteers

Supplies and Equipment

Water and Food

Traffic Control andTransportation

I.C.

LOG.

I . C . S

OP.

C.V.

FS V 02/020268

F A C T S H E E T

The AKUT and IstanbulCommunity Impact ProjectCommunity Disaster Volunteersprogram was modeled on theLos Angeles Fire Departmentand FEMA CommunityEmergency Response Team(CERT) courses.

CERT was originally developedbecause of the need for a well-trained civilian emergencyworkforce. These teams willassist by responding duringdisaster situations whenconventional emergency servicesare overwhelmed.

The training program providesgreater community self-

sufficiency through the development of multi-functional response teams who will act as anadjunct to government emergency services during major disasters.

Through this unique program, people from neighborhood and community organizations willreceive training to support teams and to perform as individual leaders by directing untrainedvolunteers in the initial phase of an emergency.

Community Disaster Volunteers receive 28 hours of training (7 sessions, 4 hours each). Tobecome a trainer, an additional 100 hours of instructor training is required.

The ability to effectively recover from the devastating effects of an earthquake requires the activeparticipation, planning, and cooperation of all levels of the population. The fundamentalresponsibilty for preparednes, however, lies wth every individual.

By encouraging preparedness efforts and hazard mitigation, the effects of a disaster can beminimized considerably.

The benefits of this program are numerous. It will increase our overall level of disasterreadiness, provide emergency skills that people may use in day-to-day emergencies, enhance thebond between government and community, increase community spirit, and improve the quality oflife for the people of our city.

COMMUNITY DISASTER VOLUNTEERS

c.e.r.t.

FS V 02/0202 69

COMMUNITY DISASTER VOLUNTEERSCOURSE SYLLABUS

CLASS 1: Introduction, Earthquake Awareness

Registration. Introduction. Earthquake Threat in Turkey.Personal and Family Preparation. Nonstructural HazardMitigation. “ABCD Basic Disaster Awareness Training”

CLASS 2: Disaster Fire Suppression Techniques

Fire Chemistry, Fire Extinguisher Use, Utility Control, Ventilation,Creative Firefighting Techniques, Hazardous Materials.

CLASS 3: Disaster First Aid Operations (Session 1)

Recognizing & Treating Life-Thretening Emergencies, Triage,Treatment Area Management.

CLASS 4: Disaster First Aid Operations (Session 2)

Head-to-Toe Evaluation, Recognizing & Treating Non-Life-Thretening Emergencies.

CLASS 5: Light Search & Rescue Operations

Evacuation, Damage Assessment, Search Technique, RescueMethods.

CLASS 6: Team Organization And Management

Developing a Response Team, Incident Command Systems, Size-Up, Disaster Psychology.

CLASS 7: Course Review & Disaster Simulation

Disaster Simulation. Critique.

COMMUNITY DISASTERVOLUNTEERS /

COMMUNITY EMERGENCYRESPONSE TEAM

TRAINING

I.C.

LOG.

I . C . S

OP.

C.V.

NOTES

Çengelköy 81220 ‹stanbul tel: 0216.308 05 11 / 345 fax: 0216.332 90 94 e-mail: iahep@boun.edu.tr internet: www.iahep.org

I S T A N B U L C O M M U N I T Y I M P A C T P R O J E C TB . U . K A N D I L L I O B S E R V A T O R Y & E A R T H Q U A K E R E S E A R C H I N S T I T U T E